Lufthansa cabin crews to go on strike

Berlin, Germany (4E) – Cabin crews of German airline Lufthansa will go on strike Tuesday after talks with management over wage increase and better working conditions failed last week.

The workers from the union UFO, which represents two-thirds of Lufthansa’s 18,000 cabin crews, already staged an 8-hour walkout at the Frankfurt airport on Friday forcing the airline to ground 190 of 360 flights.

The UFO is demanding a 5 percent pay increase for cabin staff for 15 months retroactive from January this year and opposes the use of temporary cabin staff in Lufthansa aircraft. The airline had offered a 3.5 percent salary increase.

Lufthansa said on its website that the UFO has yet to notify which airports will have a strike and for how long. It warned passengers to expect unscheduled cancellations and delays of flights.

“Lufthansa regrets any inconvenience to its passengers caused by the strike measures and will do its utmost best to minimize the impacts,” the airline said.

The airline will inform passengers via SMS or email about delays, cancellations and rebookings. It will also check in passengers whose flights have been cancelled on an alternate flight.

The airline also said that affected passengers may exchange their e-ticket online or thru check-in kiosk for a travel voucher by train with Deutsche Bahn. Passengers may also buy a train ticket but the airline will only refund the unused portion of their flight ticket.

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