Almost 1,000 flights cancelled by Lufthansa over crew dispute

Lufthansa cancelled almost 1,000 flights for Monday after a union for its striking cabin crews announced plans to expand its work stoppages to Munich airport.

The airline said it was ready to resume negotiations. UFO, the cabin crews’ union, said talks over disputed retirement rules collapsed, triggering the resumption of strikes after a pause on Sunday.

Day-long strikes will begin at 4.30am on Monday in Munich, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf and continue for at least 18 hours, the union said.

Work stoppages in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf on Saturday cancelled about 520 flights. Lufthansa is “doing everything it can to mitigate the impact of this utterly excessive action on its customers as much as possible,” the airline stated, adding it is “always ready for the resumption of talks”.

The airline announced on Sunday the cancellation of 929 flights to and from the three cities, which will disrupt plans for about 113,000 passengers. The strike won’t affect about 70 per cent of the airline’s flights, according to the statement.

UFO’s announcement shows dissatisfaction with the airline’s claim that it is ready to conciliate. – (Bloomberg)