A MAJOR European airline has announced even more strikes this week, set to impact thousands more Brits.
Lufthansa pilots have been on strike since Monday in a dispute over pensions, and now the Union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has announced a further two days of strikes.
Pilots began striking on Monday, with hundreds of flights cancelled including many from the UK.
And now the union has announced that pilots will also be carrying out strikes this Thursday and Friday.
Cabin crew will also walk out today and Thursday.
It means that by the end of this week, there will have been six consecutive days of strike action.
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Over 200 flights departing Frankfurt Airport have been cancelled today, including the following flights to the UK:
- 9:50am to Manchester
- 2pm to London Heathrow
- 3:45pm to Glasgow
- 4pm to London Heathrow
- 4:10pm to Edinburgh
- 4:20pm to Newcastle
- 4:45pm to Manchester
- 5pm to Birmingham
- 6pm to London Heathrow
- 9:10pm to Birmingham
- 9:30pm to London Heathrow
- 9:50pm to Edinburgh
- 10pm to Manchester
As for flights with Lufthansa departing from the UK, the following have been cancelled:
- 9:30am from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
- 9:50am from Glasgow to Frankfurt
- 10:25am from Birmingham to Frankfurt
- 10:35am from Manchester to Munich
- 11:25am from Manchester to Frankfurt
- 12:50pm from Edinburgh to Frankfurt
- 1:35pm from London Heathrow to Munich
- 3:30pm from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
- 4:25pm from London Heathrow to Munich
- 5:10pm from Edinburgh to Munich
- 5:30pm from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
- 5:30pm from Glasgow to Frankfurt
- 5:40pm from Newcastle to Frankfurt
- 5:50pm from Edinburgh to Frankfurt
- 5:50pm from London Heathrow to Munich
- 5:55pm from Birmingham to Munich
- 6:15pm from Birmingham to Frankfurt
- 6:20pm from Manchester to Frankfurt
- 7:10pm from London Heathrow to Munich
- 7:30pm from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
- 8:25pm from London Heathrow to Munich
With 34 flights – often operating around 150 passengers each – this works out to more than 5,000 passengers to and from the UK affected.
Disruption to flights tomorrow currently remains unclear.
Regarding the further strike action, VC president Andreas Pinheiro said: “The situation remains unchanged; there is absolutely no movement on the employers’ side.
“For us, this is not about political power struggles or egos, but about sustainable solutions.”
In a statement, the airline told passengers earlier this week: “Lufthansa and Eurowings are working intensively to keep the impact on passengers as low as possible.
“We are trying to have as many flights as possible operated by other airlines within the Lufthansa Group and by partner airlines.
“However, despite these efforts, flight cancellations are unavoidable.
“Travelers who are affected by an irregularity will be informed accordingly, provided their contact details are stored in the booking.
“We ask passengers to check the status of their flight before setting out on their journey.
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the disproportionate and very short-notice strike announcement.”
The airline has told passengers that if their flight is cancelled, they will be able to rebook once free of charge or their ticket refunded.
Though, all flights to the Middle East have been excluded from the strike action due to the ongoing Iran conflict.
In other flight news, here’s the first look at one airline’s new onboard bunk beds which even economy passengers can book.
Plus, a major UK airline is set to hike flights by up to £360 as they warn jet fuel prices have ‘never been this high’.
