Lufthansa pilots' strike paralyzes air traffic, hundreds of flights canceled

Frankfurt, April 13 - Hundreds of flights by German airline Lufthansa were cancelled on Monday after pilots began a two-day strike over pay and pensions.

The company said around half of the main airline's long-haul flights and two-thirds of its short-haul flights were cancelled on the first day of the strike. Pilots at its subsidiaries CityLine and Eurowings also joined the strike.

The Vereinigung Cockpit union said management had shown no willingness to reach an agreement. "The company has shown no concrete effort to find a solution during several rounds of negotiations," union chairman Andreas Pinheiro said.

Lufthansa, on the other hand, has called the pilots' demands unreasonable. A company spokesman said over the weekend that demands for pay and pension increases were "absurd and unworkable."

This is the latest in a series of labour disputes this year. Last week, cabin crew went on strike, leading to the cancellation of around 90 percent of Lufthansa and CityLine flights. The latest strike by pilots took place in mid-March.

The series of strikes has significantly disrupted air traffic in Germany, making travel difficult for thousands of passengers, especially during the peak spring months.

SITA/WT.24