Pilots' strike forces Lufthansa to cancel 200 flights

Lufthansa has been forced to cancel more than 200 flights as a result of a six-hour pilots' strike at Frankfurt's airport, the fifth employee protest against the airline this year.

The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots' union, which represents roughly 90 percent of all Lufthansa pilots, announced Thursday that the strike will run from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Friday evening. In anticipation of the strike, Lufthansa canceled flights both to and from Frankfurt through Saturday morning.

The strike, which targets short- and medium-haul flights, is part of a dispute between the airline and pilots over a "transition payment" for pilots to retire early, according to The Associated Press. The airline wants to cut the transition payments, but the pilots want the payments to continue, in addition to 10 percent salary increases.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

In addition to canceling the flights, Lufthansa has provided 500 cots for passengers at the Frankfurt airport who aren't allowed to enter Germany "for Visa reasons" and has booked 2,200 hotel rooms in the Rhine-Main area "as a precaution," according to a press release from the company. Lufthansa also noted that it will provide snacks for the passengers whose travel plans are affected by the strike.