Germany’s largest airline Lufthansa has grounded 1,300 flights as the carrier has lost a last-minute legal bid to halt a strike by cabin crew. The walkout, expected to last two days, is impacting travel hubs throughout Europe.
Lufthansa apologized to passengers for the difficulty, while the flight attendants’ union, UFO, says the strike was inevitable as labor negotiations with Lufthansa are at a deadlock.
As reported, the walkout disrupted the travel of around 180,000 passengers as it hits all Lufthansa flights from German airports.
However, flights by Lufthansa’s other airlines including Eurowings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines are not affected, the airline said.
The airline has cancelled 700 flights on Thursday and 600 on Friday, amounting to about one-fifth of its planned flights during the 48-hour period.
Lufthansa said it regretted the inconvenience caused, adding: “We will do everything we can to minimise the impact of this massive strike on our customers.”
Lufthansa has said passengers travelling between German airports can exchange their tickets online for rail tickets. Rest of the passengers will be offered substitute flights.The airline says that they will publish their new flight plan in the coming hours, and customers will be able to check the status of their flights online through Lufthansa’s website.
Lufthansa notes that even if your flight isn’t canceled, all Lufthansa passengers traveling through Frankfurt or Munich on Thursday or Friday can rebook once free of charge, for travel through November 15, 2019, assuming the same booking class is available.
