Lufthansa has confirmed that a German pilots union strike today will ground more than 200 aircraft at Frankfurt Airport between 1700-23.00 local time.

 

 

The ‘Vereinigung Cockpit’ pilots union strike is affecting both short and medium-haul flights from/to Frankfurt/Main. TRBusiness counted 208 flights that have already been cancelled to mainly European destinations tonight and any readers flying to or from Frankfurt should check the latest status at this link: http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/flight_services/cancelled_flights?nodeid=1410039030&l=en&cid=18002

 

Lufthansa management is asking passengers to check the status of their flights prior to travelling to the airport and where it is appropriate, the airline is exchanging air tickets for rail tickets on domestic flights.

 

Airline management says it regrets any inconvenience to its passengers and it will do all it can to minimize the impact. This is the second strike called by the pilots union following a similar event at Lufthansa’s low-cost Germanwings subsidiary last week. That is estimated to have cost the airline some €10m ($13m).

 

The union says it will continue to call lightning strikes until the management ceases what it claims is a ‘confrontational’ approach in the way that it deals with its staff. The strike is also about pilots being able to retain a long-time perk where they have been able to retire at 55 in the past with good pay and conditions.