More turbulence for Lufthansa

The German flag carrier Lufthansa says an estimated 1,706 flights will be cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday due to a long-running pay dispute between management and pilots.

“I believe the time has come to quickly resolve this dispute. We have fought long enough. Our passengers had to suffer long enough from this conflict. We will apply enough pressure so that we will achieve a solution as quickly as possible,” said pilots’ union spokesperson Winfried Streicher.

The stoppage went ahead after the courts rejected Lufthansa’s request to issue a temporary injunction on the strike, which is over pay and conditions.





The cost





This latest walk-out has already cost the company around 20 million euros.

The long-term damage, factoring in customer relations, could be even more costly.





What the passengers are saying





Since Saturday, more than 350 thousand passengers have been impacted by the industrial action.

“It’s annoying and has a lot of negative effects on travellers. It’s nerve wrecking. I can’t understand it,” said one man.

“We are not affected, we’re lucky. We’re flying with Air Dolomiti, a Lufthansa subsidiary so we are lucky. However, I find the demands exaggerated and I don’t think it’s right to deal with this issue at other people’s expense,” said another.