Lufthansa Strike Causes Travel Mayhem

Passengers are pictured stranded at a terminal Frankfurt airport during the Lufthansa strike. Photo by voanews.com

Lufthansa cabin crews have started a 24-hour nationwide strike, triggering travel chaos for thousands of passengers.

The airline is expected to cancel up to 1 200 flights, BBC reports Friday.

The strike, called by the UFO union, affects Germany's six main airports including Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich, all German regions and all types of flights, both domestic and international.

Friday morning Lufthansa announced it had renewed contact with the cabin crew union, which raised hopes for speedy settlement.

UFO, representing about two-thirds of Lufthansa's 19 000 cabin crew, is seeking a 5% pay increase for members and job security.

Lufthansa spokesman Klaus Walther said that the airline had offered to stop fixed-term contracts and halt the use of temporary staff, but the airline is only proposing a 3.5% rise in salary.

According to BBC, some 43 000 Lufthansa customers were disrupted by Tuesday's strike, which was limited to just three airports and resulted in 350 cancelled flights.

Of these, 1 500 faced overnight stays on temporary beds in airport lounges.

Lufthansa announced it had managed to reschedule some passengers on other flights and would attempt to resume services as soon as possible once the strike was over.

There are concerns that passengers travelling on other airlines could also be affected.

The airline is currently undergoing a EUR 1.5 B cost-cutting program to offset rising fuel expenses and tackle competition from low-cost carriers.