Lufthansa pilots' union called Tuesday for a new two-day strike in Germany following walkouts earlier in the week, in a dispute over pay and pensions.
The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union urged its members to halt work on Thursday and Friday, after a similar stoppage on Monday and Tuesday led to hundreds of flights being cancelled.
The new action will affect flights operated under the "classic" Lufthansa brand as well as those of its subsidiaries CityLine and Eurowings, and flights operated by the freight division Lufthansa Cargo.
The German airline giant has been hit by a series of strikes this year, with both pilots and cabin crew walking out.
After the pilots' union strike on Monday and Tuesday, a strike by the cabin crew union was set to disrupt travel with Lufthansa airlines on Wednesday and Thursday. Previous strikes also took place in March and February this year.
READ ALSO: Travel to and from Germany disrupted by back to back Lufthansa strikes
A demonstration by the UFO cabin crew union is also planned in Frankfurt on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the airline's centenary celebrations, which German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is attending.
Among the pilots, "the situation remains unchanged; there is absolutely no movement on the employers’ side," VC president Andreas Pinheiro said in a press release on Tuesday.
The pilots are calling for better retirement benefits, while Lufthansa argues that it needs to cut costs to manage its debt.
The union is now demanding a "binding mediation procedure" involving a third party in order "to avoid a further escalation."
"For us, this is not about political power struggles or egos, but about sustainable solutions," Andreas Pinheiro said.
With reporting by Paul Krantz.
Comments