Pilots at Lufthansa are digging in with two additional days of strikes this week in a dispute over company pension contributions, extending disruptions at Europe’s largest carrier that have stranded tens of thousands of passengers.
The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union plans to push ahead with a 48-hour strike starting Thursday after Lufthansa rejected a proposal for binding third-party mediation, the union said in a statement Wednesday.
“Anyone who rejects such an offer and, moreover, fails to put forward any negotiable proposals is at least accepting that labour disputes will continue to escalate,” VC leader Andreas Pinheiro said.
Lufthansa insisted on renegotiating existing agreements alongside current disputes, the union said. An airline spokesperson said Lufthansa remains open to a “comprehensive” settlement and declined to comment further.
The carrier now faces five consecutive days of walkouts.
A longer job action will likely lead to additional flight cancellations, marking another blow to the company as it grapples with the biggest strike in about a decade.
The dispute also undercuts the airline’s attempts to benefit from disruptions in the Middle East, where archrivals such as Emirates have been forced to cut back operations, providing an opening for other carriers to pick up more business.
The labour action is expected to affect Lufthansa’s core airline as well as its cargo, CityLine and Eurowings units, according to the VC statement. Pilots will continue operating flights to parts of the Middle East, with those routes exempt from the strike due to the ongoing Iran war.
Lufthansa fell as much as 3.3% in Frankfurt trading Wednesday. Shares are down about 7% this year.
The latest move adds to one of the most intense waves of strikes hitting Lufthansa in years. The union previously had called a two-day strike for Monday and Tuesday. A cabin crew walkout by the UFO union took place last week, and the group then declared further strikes for Wednesday and Thursday.
The stand-off casts a cloud over Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary celebrations Wednesday, which the airline is marking with a reception including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to Fraport, the operator of Lufthansa’s main Frankfurt hub, more than 100,000 passengers were affected by strikes in March. More than 1,000 flights were cancelled at Frankfurt airport so far this week, according to a spokesperson.
The walkouts follow months of stalled negotiations. The VC union is seeking higher employer pension contributions, while Lufthansa says there is limited room for increases.
Lufthansa is pushing for efficiency by shifting more short-haul flying to lower-cost units such as City Airlines and Discover, where crew costs are as much as 40% lower than at the mainline airline.
