Upcoming Lufthansa Strikes: What Passengers Should Know

Hundreds of thousands of Lufthansa passengers are set to be affected by upcoming walkouts following disputes over wage negotiations.

Where Will the Strikes Occur?

The German-based United Services Union (Ver.di) is urging Lufthansa ground workers at various airports including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn, and Stuttgart to strike for more than 24 hours.

Timeline of the Strikes

If last-minute negotiations fail, ground staff in some of Germany’s largest airports will officially strike from 4 AM on Tuesday, February 20, returning at 7:10 AM on Wednesday, February 21. According to a statement issued by Ver.di, the cargo and technology areas may be impacted at different times, although this will not directly affect commercial passengers.

Impact on Ground Employees

This industrial action involves approximately 25,000 ground employees at Deutsche Lufthansa, including those from Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo, and other group companies. The strikes are in response to a breakdown in discussions regarding group-wide collective wages.

A striking 96 percent of employees rejected the latest offer, which inadequately addressed compensation for income lost during the pandemic.

Voices of Discontent

Ver.di negotiator Marvin Reschinsky expressed the workers’ frustration: “The ground workers feel offended once again. While the group provides its pilots with annual basic incomes of up to 270,000 euros high double-digit pay increases, the ground workers with starting hourly wages sometimes as low as 13 euros are not even expected to compensate for the price increases of the last few years. This is blatantly anti-social.”

Call for Resolution

He added, “We do not want this escalation. We want a quick result for employees and passengers. Management should have come to their senses after the last strike at the latest. However, Lufthansa was not prepared to negotiate more than their only offer during the negotiations that lasted late into the night. The company, therefore, bears responsibility for the further escalation of the conflict.”

Passenger Advisory

In response to the impending strikes, Lufthansa stated, “Passengers who are affected by flight cancellations due to the Ver.di strike will be informed by email or via the Lufthansa app. We regret the inconvenience for our guests. Please only come to the airport if your flight has not been cancelled. Due to the strike, the rebooking counters are unfortunately not staffed.”