As the strike contagion spreads through Germany, the union representing Aircraft handlers and other employees at most of Germany’s airports on Thursday which is intended to cripple air travel throughout the country and Europe.
Specifically, Frankfurt’s aircraft handlers, maintenance, freight handlers etc. will all walk off the job between 3:30a and 2:30p local time.
Munich, Cologne/Bonn, Dusseldorf, Hannover, Hamburg and Stuttgart will also be part of the walk-out this Thursday.
Expect major delays and cancelations throughout Lufthansa’s network for Thursday as the airline is fairly defenseless against this ridiculous union tactic. I say ridiculous because in essence, this strike is a sympathy strike as Child Care workers battle to get better salaries and benefits. So why not cripple the country’s airports as a result, right?
LH has announced that it will rebook passengers traveling to or from affected airports on the 27th at no cost. You can take care of your booking yourself by visiting this Lufthansa webpage.
Also, you can Use this link to determine the best phone number to contact based on your location if you can not access your reservation online to make necessary changes.
In addition, Lufthansa does have a webpage that you can look to which provides updates on possible flight disruptions.
We’ve also set up a dedicated WIKI thread on FlyerTalk that will try to gather the latest information as it becomes available. Check there often if you travels take you to or through Germany this week.
The strike is not ridiculous, your repeated anti-union comments are. The world is seeing wage inequality as a major problem, and strikes are the last option for the little guys to have a voice – elections certainly don’t do it any longer because all politicians are easily bought. So if it means some people have to be inconvenienced for one morning (myself included!) so be it. Better than living for a 5$ minimum wage as in the US.
You can rest assured I am anti-union especially when they impact those that have nothing to do with their challenges and cries for attention. Its always funny to me how European Unions handle strikes vs. the US unions. You don’t see these ridiculous sympathy strikes where one group has hundreds of others walking out in sympathy. Maybe the EU should reflect on how to manage the unions before the inmates take over the asylum. Of course thats my opinion only.
By the way you are off in your calculations of the US minimum wage by 45%.
Thanks for the update. I am flying out on April 9th to Frankfurt and this news is scaring me. So since the strike is happening on Thursday, does that mean it will be over after one day and everything will go back to normal Friday? Or do these strikes normally last for a while and occur again in the immediate future? I am trying to figure out if I still need to worry about my flight on April 9th or if I need to start thinking about alternatives. Thanks.
There are no further strikes that have been scheduled, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be called on short notice. Typically unions in Europe call temporary strikes lasting a few hours or a day in most cases. This is done to send a message ahead of upcoming negotiations etc. The unions get some free advertising for the ‘plight’ when they pull stunts like this. Unfortunately it seems like the German unions studied how France and Italy do things…… I wouldn’t worry about the April flight yet. There are negotiation sessions planned between now and then, so hopefully a resolution is reached.
Thanks so much Dennis for your quick response! This is the first time I’m flying Lufthansa and I am really looking forward to my trip. I am hoping since April 9th is a few days before Easter, no strikes will be planned for that week.
You’re Welcome! Enjoy your time aboard LH! Usually unions don’t call anything over holidays. But keep in mind there are 2 potential strikes in play. One is the current one that has nothing to do with Lufthansa, but with other sectors in Germany. The pilots union though also authorized a strike but said it wouldn’t happen over the Easter holiday. At this point enjoy your travels! Worst case is that you get rebooked to a day earlier or later should something happen on the 9th.
Ah I had no idea there are two strikes in play! =( Good to know and thanks for clarifying that for me. I will be following your blog and the wiki page like a hawk.
PS – I love your duck registry! Too bad I’m going to be in business =( I would like a duck one day!
Last time I flew LH during a strike was a disaster. I flew a day flight ex-FRA transatlantic in C class. Special meal was confirmed but not loaded, Soft drinks were severely messed up, no juices, no sparkling water were available. What was annoying is that they were crowing about ontime performance but it was quite a waste of miles.
That’s unfortunate…hope they figure it out asap but at lease Lufthansa is willing to change the booking at no cost for passengers.
LinI’m in Switzerland skiing I am supposed to fly out of Milan on Thursday. I have no phone and my reservation cannot be changed onLine. I have only enough money to get to Milan and from the train station to the airport. What do I do? I kind of want to ski some more 😉
enjoy the slopes! 🙂
Thanks for the updates. I’m flying out of Dusseldorf Friday, so hopefully is won’t be too horrid by then.