Lufthansa cabin crew strike cancels over 900 flights in Germany

Lufthansa passengers faced massive disruption Friday as cabin crew walked off the job, leading to the cancellation of approximately 580 flights at Frankfurt Airport – the country’s main international gateway – out of around 1,350 scheduled. At Munich Airport, Lufthansa’s second largest hub, roughly 400 flights were scrapped. The Independent Flight Attendants Organization (UFO) called the strike from shortly after midnight until 10 pm local time, with cabin crew from regional subsidiary CityLine also joining the action.

Union Accuses Lufthansa of Failing to Negotiate

UFO chair Joachim Vazquez Buerger accused Lufthansa of failing to present a negotiable offer, insisting the disruption “would have been avoidable.” He noted that the union had refrained from striking during the peak Easter travel period but warned that Friday’s action could still hit passengers returning home at the end of the holiday. The carrier urged travellers to check their flight status before heading to the airport and said it was notifying affected passengers automatically. Lufthansa deployed a contingency plan that included extra flights by subsidiaries and larger aircraft on some routes.

Series of Labour Disputes

Friday’s walkout marks the latest in a series of labour disputes at Lufthansa this year. In mid‑February, UFO joined pilots from the Vereinigung Cockpit union for a joint one‑day strike that caused similar widespread cancellations. The union had voted overwhelmingly in late March to authorise strikes after wage talks broke down.