Tens of thousands of air passengers boarding flights in Germany should expect disruption this week, due to strike action from flight crews across the country, amid ongoing disputes over wages and pensions in the aviation sector.
Pilots working for national flag carrier Lufthansa are set to withdraw labour from midnight on Monday, 13 April to midnight on Tuesday, 14 April 2026, according to announcements from Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) Union that affect the airline’s Cargo, Cityline and Eurowings brands.
A suite of flight cancellations followed the two-day strike call, with major hubs in cities including Berlin, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart experiencing short notice disruption to up to 75% of schedules.
The misery for flyers comes on top of the previous week’s walkouts by cabin crew deemed “completely disproportionate,” by Lufthansa brand chief Jens Ritter. Even though union representatives have claimed there had been an effort not to disrupt seasonal holidays, the strikes took place Orthodox Easter and are estimated to have hit 580 flights and 72,000 passengers by the morning of Friday, 10 April.
“Despite a deliberate decision not to take strike action over the Easter holidays, no serious offers were forthcoming,” union President Andreas Pinheiro said. “During this period, there was neither a response nor any discernible willingness to engage in talks on the part of the employers,” he explained.
In the wake of recent disruption across the Middle East, Lufthansa appears to be trying to prioritise routes in the region, committing to destinations including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. For other customers, free rebooking, refunds, or Deutsche Bahn tickets are available for affected services between 11 April and 21 April.
The strikes are the third to take place in the space of a month, with the industry predicting a summer of disruption ahead as the recent industrial action by both pilots and crew across Lufthansa subsidiaries is partly a symptom of wider restructuring taking place inside the Group. Its Cityline operations are slated to close down by the end of 2026, when they will switch to its City Airlines umbrella—a move that critics have previously said is designed to get around aircraft size limits. In the light of the controversy and feared job losses, Verdi Union has secured better working conditions, retirement packages, and a pay rise worth up to 35% by spring 2029 for around 500 employees.
