Lufthansa Cancelled 87% Of All Flights Yesterday

Data has shown that Lufthansa, with employees striking on March 7 and 8, was forced to cancel most of its flights on the first day. The strikes had a similar impact on its flight schedule and passengers on the next day, too.

Around 87% of canceled fights

According to data from Flightradar24, Lufthansa canceled 1,040 out of 1,170 (86.6%) flights on March 7. As of 13:00 local time (UTC +1), the German airline had abandoned plans to operate 1,030 out of 1,209 (85%) flights on March 8.

The site’s data also showed that out of 662 flights scheduled to depart from Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Lufthansa’s largest hub, only 197 were tracked. Meanwhile, at Munich Airport (MUC), Flightradar24 tracked 190 out of 453 scheduled flights the same day. At Lufthansa’s third-busiest airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), the service did not follow only a handful, namely 22 flights.

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Security personnel strike

However, in addition to strikes by Lufthansa’s ground handling employees, the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, AKA ver.di) also called for security personnel at FRA and Hamburg Airport to strike on March 7.

According to the union, following five negotiation rounds with the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (Bundesverband der Luftsicherheitsunternehmen, BDLS), the union and the association have not found common ground.

Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock

Wolfgang Pieper, a negotiator at ver.di, said that while the employers presented a new offer, it was still inadequate for 25,000 security employees in Germany. Flightradar24 data showed that out of 223 scheduled flights out of HAM, the service only tracked 101.

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Not meeting eye-to-eye

When ver.di announced the ground handling employees strike on March 4, the union said that while Lufthansa had improved its offer, the new contract did not meet its salary expectations. As such, ver.di announced the two-day labor action before the next round of negotiations on March 13 and March 14.

Marvin Reschinsky, another negotiator at ver.di, remarked that it was unbelievable that the company, which will announce record-breaking results with significant bonuses for its executive board, has failed to adequately compensate its ground handling employees, who are struggling to make ends meet in Germany’s most expensive cities.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Meanwhile, Michael Niggemann, the Chief Human Resources Officer and Labour Director at Lufthansa, said that ver.di was deliberately escalating the dispute and that the union has rejected multiple improved offers the airline has made.

“Verdi has already staged four strikes totaling 145 hours – significantly longer than the negotiation period.”

Still, Niggemann emphasized that Lufthansa was ready to return to the negotiation table immediately without any preconditions and that the union would suspend further strike action, declaring its willingness to negotiate constructively.

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