Europe’s biggest air carrier is canceling “almost all” flights scheduled for Wednesday in Germany due to a strike by ground staff, German airline Lufthansa announced on Tuesday, AFP reported.
Lufthansa flightPhoto: HotNews.ro / Victor Cozmei
More than 130,000 passengers will be affected as a result of the cancellation of 678 flights to and from Frankfurt Airport and 345 flights to and from Munich Airport, Lufthansa said.
The airline added that the ability to reschedule passengers affected by the strike is very limited and that the problems are likely to last until the end of this week.
“The extension of the previously constructive negotiations is causing enormous damage,” said Michael Nickmann, Lufthansa’s director of personnel.
Strike, full season
The Lufthansa strike comes in the middle of the travel season and just days before the start of school holidays in two southern German states, at an already tense moment for the European aviation industry, Agerpres notes.
Europe’s biggest carrier Lufthansa has already had to cancel around 6,000 flights scheduled for this summer, and Frankfurt airport authorities plan to ease flight schedules to ensure flight operations are disrupted by holiday departures.
With health restrictions lifted at the start of the year, airlines and airports are struggling to cope with a strong increase in demand for air traffic, two years after air traffic was down and many staff lost.
A study published at the end of June by the German Institute of Economic Studies in Cologne showed that at least 7,000 workers are needed in the aviation sector in Germany.
Staffing crisis at Lufthansa
In Frankfurt in early July, Lufthansa is asking passengers to fend for themselves if they are unlucky enough to cancel their flight.
“As many flights are cancelled, make your own arrangements to continue your journey by train or hotel or home. Rescheduling or hotel bookings can no longer be done by colleagues,” is the message displayed at the airport, according to a post by tourism expert Raswan Basku.
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