(Reuters) — Lufthansa cancelled some 3,800 flights as pilots began a three-day walkout on Wednesday (April 2), in what is one of the biggest strikes ever to hit the German airline.
Vereinigung Cockpit, the union representing most of Lufthansa’s 5,400 pilots, last week said it was calling for a three-day strike from April 2 over plans by Germany’s largest airline to scrap an early retirement deal.
Although Lufthansa had improved its offer, the pilots said it wasn’t enough as it didn’t apply to pilots joining after 2014.
The Lufthansa units affected by the strikes would normally operate around 4,300 flights over the three days, but the walkout means it is able to operate just 500 short and long-haul flights during the period.
The strike affects flights run by its Lufthansa brand as well as its Germanwings low-cost unit, and it has also cancelled 23 out of a planned 31 Lufthansa Cargo flights for the strike period.
The atmosphere at Frankfurt airport, Germany’s largest, was calm early on Wednesday morning, with many passengers seeming to have taken note of warnings to check online if their flight would actually be going.
Some people could be seen checking in for flights that were scheduled to leave and many seemed to have understanding for the pilots.
“Partly, yes. It is their right. I mean they also want to have their money and their future secured. I can understand it,” Klaus Dieter Bartel told Reuters TV in Frankfurt.
“I have understanding. I am not affected by it. If I were affected then I probably wouldn’t be so amused because it seems like it happens too often. But as I’m not affected, it’s not so bad,” said Markus Woelfer.
While others were worried that they would have trouble changing their plans because of the sheer amount of passengers affected, like Monika Hemke.
“The money which we have already paid for the train and bus in advance is probably gone. I can’t imagine that we will get the money or if we do then with a lot of hassle,” she told Reuters.
Lufthansa has said it would rebook customers onto other airlines or trains. Its units Swiss, Austrian, Eurowings, CityLine, Air Dolomiti, plus partner Brussels Airlines, would use larger aircraft on routes to and from Germany where possible.
A spokesperson for the airline said the company had done all it could to warn passengers about the situation and offered alternatives to get them to their destinations.
“We are still recommending people to look at the homepage to see which flights are going. Come to the airport if your flight is called and you are sure that it will be flying otherwise we have done everything we could to rebook passengers and to help them get trains or onto other airlines. They can still rebook their flights for the next three months for free if they have decided not to travel now. So I think that we have done the best we could with many thousands of employees,” Barbara Schaedler told Reuters at Frankfurt airport, adding that the company was prepared to restart negotiations with pilots at any time.
“Our wish for the union Vereinigung Cockpit is that we start talking again as soon as possible, even during the strike because I think that we can find a good solution, and this especially for the passengers because the strike alone does not solve any problems,” she said.
Lufthansa said on Monday (March 31) the strike would cost it tens of millions of euros just for its Lufthansa and Germanwings passenger operations.
Back in 2010, Lufthansa pilots called a four-day strike over cost cuts. Although the action was called off after one day, it still resulted in the cancellation of around 2,000 flights and cost Lufthansa 48 million euros ($66 million) in lost revenues.
Analysts now estimate that a full three-day strike could cost the airline 30-50 million euros in profit.
