FRANKFURT, Germany — German national carrier
Lufthansa said it would have to cancel almost all flights at its domestic hubs
in Frankfurt and Munich on Wednesday because of a planned strike by ground
crew, adding to a summer of travel chaos across Europe.
اضافة اعلان
The one-day walkout called by
Germany’s powerful Verdi
union will have a “massive impact”, Lufthansa said in a statement on Tuesday.
More than 1,000 flights will be scrapped, including
some already on Tuesday, affecting around 134,000 passengers.
“Lufthansa will have to call off almost the entire
flight program at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich for Wednesday,” the group
said, adding that a knock-on effect on some flights scheduled for Thursday and
Friday could not be ruled out.
The strike — scheduled to last from 1:45am GMT on
Wednesday until 4am GMT on Thursday — comes as ground workers seek a higher pay
rise than the one offered by Lufthansa so far.
The stoppage promises to bring more pain to a
turbulent summer for air travel across Europe.
The Verdi union,
representing around 20,000 Lufthansa ground staff, is seeking a 9.5-percent pay
rise, or at least 350 euros per month. It also wants a minimum hourly wage of
13 euros.
The union has said management’s offer so far “does
not come close to compensating for inflation” which stood at 7.6 percent in
Germany last month.
Lufthansa has countered that it has offered “very
substantial pay increases” amounting to more than 10 percent for workers in the
lowest wage categories, and a six-percent increase for higher-paid staff.
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