Lufthansa Airlines has canceled 800 flights from Germany on Friday and is warning that disruption could continue over the weekend.
Pilots at Germany’s airline Lufthansa began a planned 24-hour strike shortly after midnight on Friday.
The strike forced the carrier to cancel 800 flights, impacting about 130.000 passengers.
The strike will have an impact on all Lufthansa flights leaving Germany on Friday, particularly those with large bases in Frankfurt and Munich.
Many German states are currently ending their summer vacations, which is causing inconvenience for many families.
In order to avoid the expected travel mayhem, passengers were encouraged to use the train or reschedule their flights for a different day.
None of the subsidiaries of Lufthansa, including Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, and Eurowings, are anticipated to be impacted by the strike. According to the company, their schedule won’t change.
If aircraft and crews are already overseas, flights leaving Germany should proceed according to plan.
Additionally, the airline warned that there might be “isolated cancellations or delays” throughout the weekend.
After failing to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the corporation on Thursday night, the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) declared a strike.
According to VC, it is asking a 5.5% pay increase for its over 5,000 pilots in addition to 2023’s automatic inflation adjustments.
Spokesperson Matthias Baier said they hadn’t received a “sufficient offer” on Thursday, calling it a “sobering and missed opportunity” on side of Lufthansa.