A strike announced by trade union Verdi at Frankfurt and Munich Airports will have operational impact on the Lufthansa Group, in the middle of the peak travel season, according to a notice sent out by the airline to agents. Flights on the South Africa routes are cancelled today, but the Groups Eurowings Discover flights to Windhoek will operate. Ground staff are striking for a 9,5% pay increase, starting at 03h45 this morning.
Lufthansa yesterday (July 26) said it would cancel almost the entire flight program at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs today, Wednesday, July 27.
Selected long-haul flights departing yesterday, and scheduled to arrive in Frankfurt or Munich today, Wednesday, have already been cancelled.
Other Lufthansa Group airlines flights are also affected by flight cancellations.
Lufthansa said it was doing its utmost to return flight operations to normal as quickly as possible. “Nevertheless, the effects of the strike may still lead to individual flight cancellations or delays on Thursday and Friday,” said the notice.
Boris Ogursky, the Lufthansa Group’s Media Spokesperson EMEA confirmed to Travel News that Lufthansa flights from Frankfurt and Munich were largely cancelled today, Wednesday July 27. “This means no flights on Wednesday July 27 for Johannesburg and Cape Town,” he said, adding that the return flights were also cancelled.
However, he said that the Eurowings Discover flights to Windhoek will continue to operate.
He said the strike was scheduled to last 26 hours and that the airline hopes to normalise the schedule as soon as possible on Thursday.
The airline said it would inform passengers (provided the contact details are stored in the booking) and rebook on alternative flights if possible. However, it should be noted that the capacities available for rebookings are very limited.
Agents or travellers should check the status of their flight before they set out for the airport.
