Lufthansa is desperately attempting to block a planned pilots’ strike today, which is apparently going to impact some 100,000 travellers.
The airline put forward its eleventh hour legal challenge earlier today after losing its last appeal to a Frankfurt labour court, BBC News reported.
If the latest appeal is rejected, pilots’ union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), has organised for employees to walk off the job for 24 hours starting 0.01hrs (local time).
Some 900 long and short haul flights (or a third of all flights) are expected to be cancelled or delayed by the industrial action, which is being held over pay disputes between the airline and its pilots.
In an online statement, Lufthansa confirmed the strike will only affect Lufthansa-operated services, meaning flights operated by Germanwings, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Brussels Airlines will continue to operate as normal.
The carrier continued, saying it will attempt to minimise the impact on passengers but said any impacted travellers will be able to rebook their flights free of charge.
“Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience caused by the VC strike and will try to minimise the impact on its passengers.”
Lufthansa
Travellers are being urged to check the status of their flight by clicking here before leaving for the airport, and those that have booked through a Travel Agent are being told to contact their consultant to rebook.
Pay talks between the two groups broke down earlier this month when Lufthansa offered a 2.5 percent pay rise over six years until 2019, less than the 3.7 percent demanded by VC.
