Lufthansa planes remained on the ground today.Image: keystone
April 15, 2026, 1:39 p.mApril 15, 2026, 1:39 p.m
Lufthansa crews are celebrating their company’s anniversary with continued violent strikes. Just a few hours after the proposal for arbitration, the company and the pilots’ union Verband Cockpit fell out again and made mutual accusations. In particular, it was not possible to agree on the scope of the disputes to be settled. The strikes planned up to and including Friday will therefore continue.
At the ceremony planned in Frankfurt to mark the 100th anniversary of the first flight, the Cockpit Association and the UFO cabin union have called for protests at the venue. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (both CDU) have been invited to the new “Hangar One” visitor center.
Hundreds of failures again
On Wednesday, hundreds of flights at German airports were canceled due to another strike by around 20,000 flight attendants at Lufthansa and its regional subsidiary Cityline. According to airport operator Fraport, more than 580 take-offs and landings were canceled at the Frankfurt hub alone. In Munich, too, around 380 flight movements were missing from the plan. With the strikes up to and including Thursday, UFO wants to achieve better working conditions in the collective agreement.
The Cockpit Association has already announced the next strikes at Lufthansa: The strike is scheduled to affect the core company Lufthansa, the freight company Cargo AG and the regional company Cityline on Thursday and Friday. The holiday airline Eurowings is only scheduled to go on strike on Thursday. The pilots demand higher company pensions and higher salaries at Cityline.
Save even on a small scale
Because of the consequences of the Iran war, the Lufthansa Group also has to make small savings. In an email, board member Dieter Vranckx called on employees to increase cost control, as the “Handelsblatt” reported. For example, you should avoid business trips, further training and expensive overnight stays.
In addition, no external employees will be hired for non-operational functions for the time being. There will also no longer be any new positions or consulting contracts. Open jobs may only be filled with the approval of the board. Some of the measures are already included in the airline Lufthansa’s current savings program, according to company headquarters.
Minister Schnieder congratulated Lufthansa in advance: “The company and the entire aviation industry have regularly experienced fundamental upheavals and have always developed the ability to reinvent themselves again and again. I am sure: Lufthansa will continue to set standards in innovation and new technologies over the next 100 years.” (nil/sda/awp/dpa)