Lufthansa calls off 1,000 flights as ground staff set to stage a walkout

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, or simply Lufthansa, the flag carrier of Germany, announced it has called off more than 1,000 flight schedules as its ground staff is set to hold a one-day walkout for Wednesday, July 27.

As per Reuters, the flight cancellations were carried out just as the German people are heading out for a vacation for their summer holidays. It was noted that staff shortages and labor strikes have already forced many airlines such as Lufthansa to cancel thousands of bookings and caused long queues at airports that often lasted for hours.

These issues have left many travellers very frustrated since they cannot enjoy their holidays due to flight delays. Travel is slowly surging as the restrictions related to COVID-19 are being lifted in many cities and regions. Thus, many families are taking advantage of the freedom to unwind in other places.

In any case, it was reported that more than 130,000 passengers are affected after Lufthansa started cancelling flights. The number may further increase because the air carrier may also cut more travel schedules on Thursday and Friday, even when the Verdi labor union strike is expected to take place for one day only.

So far, Lufthansa said on Tuesday it has already scrubbed 678 flights at its Frankfurt hub and 345 more in Munich. The walkout has been organised as the workers are requesting a 9.5% pay hike. About 20,000 ground handlers are set to join the strike.

Michael Niggemann, Deutsche Lufthansa’s chief human resources officer and member of the executive board said that the ground staff’s walkout is unreasonable. The company is disappointed that the strike is going ahead this week.

"After only two days of negotiations, Verdi has announced a strike that can hardly be called a warning strike due to its breadth across all locations and its duration,” Simple Flying quoted Niggemann as saying in a statement. “This is all the more incomprehensible given that the employer side has offered high and socially balanced pay increases.

The chief added, “After the enormous efforts to stabilise our flight operations, this represents a renewed, substantial and unnecessary burden for our passengers and also for our employees beyond the strike day."