Lufthansa Strike Underway as 4,000 Pilots Walk Out

Very sever disruptions are expected across Germany as more than 4,000 Lufthansa pilots walked out in a dispute over job security. As many as 3,000 flights had to be canceled. The German flag carrier posted warnings to passengers to expect delays on both domestic and international flights.

This new strike is expected to last for four days. Pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings, which is Lufthansa’s low budget subsidiary, chose to stop working as of midnight yesterday. Out of the 1,800 flights offered daily by the airline, 1,000 were expected to take to the air. Managers with appropriate airline licenses and resources at regional subsidiaries are being drafted in an effort to alleviate staff shortages.

This strike is expected to cost Lufthansa at least £20 million a day. Lufthansa’s pilots did vote overwhelmingly in favor of the strike action. All of this followed concerns that the airline could try to cut staff costs by shifting jobs to foreign subsidiaries. Such concerns have been heightened by the recent acquisition of both British Midland Airways and Austrian Airlines. German staff fear the airline could outsource jobs.

However, Lufthansa said that the airline argues that the number of pilots in Germany has increased by 20 percent since 2001. Most of this has happened due to expansions in the network. The airline, last week, offered pilots assurances that their jobs would be secure through 2012 at least.

Passengers on domestic flights were being re-booked onto trains early yesterday morning. International passengers were being transferred to other Star Alliance partners in efforts to get these passengers to their destinations.