Lufthansa strike to continue
November 8, 2015
After a strike-free Sunday, the cabin crew union UFO is set to continue and extend its strike on Monday.
According to the union, the strike of the Lufthansa flight attendants will continue at Frankfurt airport, Germany's most important international hub, and Düsseldorf. The strike will also extend to Munich, an airport that was not affected by strikes on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday, Lufthansa canceled about 520 flights from Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. According to Germany's flag carrier, about 58,000 passengers were affected by the strike on Sunday - even more than on Friday, when 290 flights were canceled.
The cabin crew union UFO is planning to stage more walkouts until November 13 if Lufthansa's management does not make concessions. As a result, it could become the longest strike in the history of Lufthansa.
Lufthansa and the union have so far failed to reach an agreement in a long-running conflict over early retirement benefits and pensions. The carrier is trying to negotiate with various staff groups to reduce pension costs as part of a savings drive to allow it to compete better with low-cost rivals and wealthy Gulf airlines.
Lufthansa has made information regarding canceled flights available online at: https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/Travel-information
das/jm (AFP, dpa)