Lufthansa cancels hundreds of flights — including to SA — as pilots strike
Frankfurt/Hamburg — Deutsche Lufthansa’s long-running pilot dispute reached new levels of bitterness as a failed bid to have a day-long strike declared illegal led a union to retaliate by extending the walkout by 24 hours. Lufthansa cancelled 876 flights on Wednesday, disrupting travel for 100,000 people, and could lose a similar number of services on Thursday after the Vereinigung Cockpit union’s late-night victory in Frankfurt’s labor court. The airline proclaimed the strike extension, announced close to midnight Tuesday, "incomprehensible" and said it will inflict "extensive damage." The walkouts over pay affect both short-and long-haul services operated by Lufthansa’s main brand, wiping out about 40% of the usual schedule. Premium flights such as Beijing-Frankfurt, Los Angeles-Munich and 10 out of 12 services from Frankfurt to London Heathrow are among those scrapped. Flights to SA have also been affected. Travellers can check whether their flights are affected here. While Lufth...
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