Image: (APA/AFP/CHRISTOF STACHE)
55 flights are affected, as noted on the airport’s website. Mostly European flights are canceled, but also domestic connections and individual long-haul flights. According to a spokeswoman, Austrian Airlines (AUA) flights are not affected for the time being.
A spokesman explained that the Lufthansa cancellations were partly caused by the strike by technical staff that began at 8 p.m. As part of the warning strike, the Verdi union called on employees of Lufthansa Technik, logistics and IT as well as the cargo airline Lufthansa Cargo to stop work from Monday evening. The passenger-related areas such as check-in and check-in will stop working from 4 a.m. on Tuesday.
Cancellation for “organizational reasons”
A Lufthansa spokesman explained that the airline is partially canceling flights for organizational reasons so that the planes are in the right place after the strike ends on Wednesday morning and operations can be restarted quickly. Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky said that from the union’s point of view, the flight cancellations on Monday were not necessary. During the first warning strike on February 7th, flight operations were possible without any problems the evening before.
The service union wants to increase the pressure for their demands with the renewed warning strike in the collective bargaining round for the around 25,000 Lufthansa employees on the ground. The main airline Lufthansa is therefore canceling 80 to 90 percent of flights in Germany on Tuesday. The other airlines in the group – in addition to Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Swiss and the regional airline Lufthansa Cityline – can largely fly regularly, as the airline announced. Since the rebooking counters are not staffed due to the warning strike, Lufthansa advises passengers with canceled flights not to come to the airport. Rebookings are possible via the Lufthansa app or service center.
No AUA flights affected
“At the moment, no Austrian Airlines flights to and from Germany are affected by the warning strike,” an AUA spokeswoman said on Monday when asked. The German union Verdi called on ground workers at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo and other companies to go on a 35-hour warning strike from February 19th at 8:00 p.m. CET to February 21st at 7:10 a.m. CET. This concerns the employees of the Lufthansa Group companies in question and not those of the airports. “The processing of Austrian Airlines flights at German airports can therefore largely be maintained,” said the AUA.
Short-term adjustments possible
Passengers are asked to check their flight status in good time on the austrian.com website, the Austrian app or Travel ID (with registration). Passengers who have booked through an (online) travel agency should contact the respective travel agency. “There may be short-term adjustments to the Austrian flight program,” admitted the airline spokeswoman.
The background to the warning strike by the German Lufthansa ground staff is the group-wide collective wage negotiations for, according to the German union Verdi, around 25,000 employees on the ground – including at Deutsche Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services, Lufthansa Engineering and Operational Services and other group companies . Lufthansa speaks of around 20,000 employees. Collective bargaining is scheduled to continue this Wednesday.
more from economics
