Lufthansa to cancel 1,000 flights amid strike

Lufthansa has announced that nearly 1,000 of its planned 1,520 flights on Wednesday will be canceled following a pilots' strike that is crippling the airlines' operations.

More than 140,000 out of a total of 180,000 travelers will be affected by the disruption. The airline has issued a special flight schedule, but passengers have been told to check Lufthansa's website to see if their flight had been disrupted.

Alternate arrangements by train would be made for passengers traveling within Germany, and planes from other airline companies would also be used for domestic destinations, the airlines said in a statement.

However, passengers could continue to suffer as the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) announced Tuesday that the current walkout would probably not be the last.

"Until further notice, it is possible that every week there will be new action," VC spokesman Markus Wahl told reporters in Frankfurt.

No negotiations possible

Lufthansa said it was "currently not possible to hold constructive negotiations" with the union. Earlier Tuesday, it filed an injunction with a labor court in Frankfurt to prevent an extension of the strike. The court later dismissed the complaint.

The company's management also announced it would seek damages of 60 million euros ($67 million) from VC to compensate for loss of earnings during a similar walkout in 2014.

Lufthansa's pilots announced their Tuesday walkout two days ago, arguing that their demands for early retirement provisions had not been fulfilled. Eighty-four of the airlines' 170 long-distance flights planned for Tuesday were grounded.

The walkout was then extended to Wednesday, affecting short and medium-haul flights from and to Germany.

This is the 13th strike by Lufthansa's pilots in the last 18 months. Airline employees have been against Lufthansa's plans to scrap the current early retirement scheme. Under the present plan, pilots can retire at 55 and receive up to 60 percent of their pay until they turn 65 - the legal age for retirement.

mg/cmk (AFP, dpa)