German airline workers go on strike: Flights delayed

German airline Lufthansa has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights due to a strike by ground staff.

According to a statement from Lufthansa, ground staff went on a 27-hour strike starting at 04:00 today, following a decision made on February 18, after no agreement could be reached on wages.

HUNDREDS OF FLIGHTS CANCELLED

While the cancellations affected more than 100 thousand passengers, the company was only able to operate 10-20 percent of scheduled flights at airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Duesseldorf, Cologne, and Stuttgart in Germany.

The German carrier also warned that flight cancellations may continue and delays may occur due to the ground staff strike.

The work stoppage by Lufthansa's ground staff will continue until 07:10 tomorrow.

WHAT ARE THE WORKERS' DEMANDS?

The United Services Union (Verdi) had called for a strike for the second time this month after negotiations for "wage improvements" for ground staff at Lufthansa, one of Europe's largest airlines, remained inconclusive.

With this strike action, Verdi aims to secure an arrangement to improve the wages paid to Lufthansa's ground staff.

The union is demanding a 12.5 percent wage increase for ground staff, with a minimum of 500 euros. In addition, they are requesting a one-time bonus of 3 thousand euros to compensate employees for high inflation.

Ground staff at Lufthansa previously went on a warning strike on February 7, during which approximately 900 of the airline's 1000 flights were cancelled and about 100 thousand passengers were affected by the strike.

News Source: 12punto