Lufthansa strike deepens - hundreds of flights cancelled
PA
Passengers at Germany's three main airports were facing widespread disruption today as cabin crew working for Lufthansa staged a second round of strikes.
An estimated 290 Lufthansa flights have been cancelled at Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin airports, with mostly short- and medium-haul routes affected. However, flights to and from Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Beijing and Mexico City have also been disrupted.
The Guardian reports that the cabin crew union UFO called on Berlin-based flight attendants to walk out for eight hours, starting at 5am local time. Workers at Frankfurt, which is Lufthansa's main hub, followed at 6am.
Staff at Munich airport are set to start an 11-hour walkout staring at 1pm today.
The strikes are taking place as a result of a pay dispute. UFO is seeking a five per cent pay rise for the airline's 18,000 crew workers, but Lufthansa is only offering a 3.5 per cent rise in return for working longer hours.
The union has warned of more strikes to come if the situation is not resolved, and will only give a few hours' notice of where and when strikes will occur.
The strike follows an eight-hour walkout at Frankfurt airport on Friday, which led to the cancellation of almost 200 flights and cost Lufthansa millions of euros.
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