Lufthansa cancels all flights in Germany due to ground staff strike

In Germany, the flagship carrier Lufthansa has announced that it is cancelling almost all flights from its hubs of Frankfurt and Munich due to a scheduled ground staff strike Wednnesday. The carrier also said, flights cancelled on Tuesday as well as later in the week as the ripple effects of the one-day strike are felt. According to media reports, in total, over 1,000 flights are being scrapped with an estimated 1,34,000 passengers affected. The trade unions claimed that the approximately 20,000 employees that make up Lufthansa's ground staff to strike in an effort to place pressure on management in ongoing salary negotiations. With the summer holiday season underway, the airline said it was already working under high pressure to reestablish flight schedules for this weekend, following previous strikes. Wednesday's strike may still lead to individual flight cancellations or delays on Thursday and Friday, Lufthansa warned. The strike started at 3:45 a.m. local time (9:45 p.m. ET) on Wednesday and is due to end at 6 a.m. local time (midnight ET) on Thursday, the union said in a statement.
Lufthansa in a statement said that its major hubs in Frankfurt and Munich will not be the only airports affected by the strike. The airline also expects its effects to be felt at the Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover and Stuttgart airports. The airline advised against coming to the airport, if not rebooked, as there will be few, if no service desks available. Cancellations include some international flights from Bangkok, Singapore, New York, Los Angeles, Johannesburg, and New Delhi. The union Ver.di is calling for a 9.5% wage increase for Lufthansa ground staff, with a minimum increase of €350 ($368) per month for 12 months. Staff are overworked due to significant staff shortages, high inflation and a three-year wage freeze, the union said. Lufthansa's head of media relations Martin Leutke told reporters Wednesday that the "massive strike on the backs of customers is not understandable and not justified" after having gone through two rounds of negotiations with the company.