Hundreds of flights of German carrier Lufthansa were canceled on Friday after approximately 20,000 flight attendants went on strike. As a result, the company’s main hubs in Germany were paralyzed, just before the Easter holidays, IPN reports with reference to Deutsche Welle.
The protest, triggered by the flight attendants’ union, began on Friday at midnight and is scheduled to end at 10:00 PM local time. The protest action targets both the main company Lufthansa and its regional subsidiary Cityline, being caused by the deadlock in wage negotiations.
The greatest disruptions were reported at the main hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, but the airports in Berlin, Stuttgart and Leipzig/Halle were also affected. At the Frankfurt airport, the largest base of the operator, approximately 75% of the 350 flights were cancelled.
Although the strike directly targets departures from German territory, company representatives warn that there will be cancellations for several return flights as well, severely affecting the travel plans of people preparing for the Easter holiday. In this context, Lufthansa has advised passengers to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
Friday’s action marks the third major disruption to Lufthansa’s operations this year, following two previous pilot strikes. Tensions have been escalating since February, when the flight attendants’ union and the pilots’ union joined forces to maximize the impact of their protests on the company’s management. Subsequently, in mid-March, the pilots organized another two-day strike.
