Lufthansa to ground ‘almost all’ Munich, Frankfurt flights amid strike

Frankfurt, Germany, Jul 26 (EFE).- Germany’s flag carrier airline Lufthansa said it will cancel almost all of its scheduled flights from Munich and Frankfurt on Wednesday due to strike action by ground staff.

The airline said the strike, organized for Wednesday by the ver.di trade union over a pay dispute, would lead to cancellations affecting an estimated 138,000 passengers.

“Lufthansa is working flat out to return flight operations to normal as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the effects of the strike may still lead to individual flight cancellations or delays on Thursday and Friday,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.

It added that a total of 678 Frankfurt flights would be canceled between Tuesday and Wednesday while 345 would be called off in Munich in the same time period.

“The early escalation of a previously constructive collective bargaining round is causing enormous damage. It affects our passengers in particular, who are impacted during the peak travel season,” said Michael Niggemann, Lufthansa’s chief human resources officer and labor director.

The industrial action comes at a time of widespread travel disruption in Europe amid a shortage of staff and strikes at other airlines including EasyJet and Ryanair. EFE

aia/jt/ks