Lufthansa rejects arbitration offer in wage dispute amid mass flight cancellations, staff strikes

The ‌German pilots union called Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), said on Wednesday that Lufthansa has rejected its ‌offer of arbitration in their ongoing labour dispute.

The news came after Lufthansa has had to cancel hundreds of flights amid continuing labor unrest from pilots and flight attendants at the national airline company in Germany.

The pilots' union VC has staged a 48-hour strike from Monday, impacting not only the Lufthansa brand but the cargo arm of the airline and even its regional carrier called CityLine. The pilots in Eurowings only go on strike on Monday.

Frankfurt International Airport, which is Germany’s busiest airport, saw 570 take-offs and landings cancelled, most of which belonged to Lufthansa that affected more than 50,000 passengers.

Recently,European second largest airline group reported that two-thirds of its short and medium-haul flights, and half of its long-haul flights were grounded.

Moreover, Eurowings, another subsidiary of Lufthansa, flew just under 60% of its planned routes.

As an additional aggravating factor, the UFO cabin crew union launched its two-day strike effective from Wednesday, and thus Lufthansa is facing four days of strikes consecutively.

The strike is caused by a disagreement regarding the pension scheme of the company, where VC is demanding an increased contribution from Lufthansa by over 100% and the airline referred to the request as "absurd and unfulfillable."

Notably, this strike is the fourth one this year involving Lufthansa pilots.

However, according to the airline, flights to the Middle East will not be impacted due to ongoing conflicts in Iran.

While criticizing the unnecessary strike, Lufthansa recommended exchanging tickets for train vouchers to minimize the inconvenience to the passengers.

Meanwhile, Union representatives, However, referred to the management’s reluctance to hold negotiations as a cause for strikes.