Germany: Lufthansa strike grounds nearly 700 flights

BERLIN (AA) – German airline Lufthansa has cancelled nearly 700 flights on Thursday due to a strike by its cabin crew in a long-running dispute over pay.

The UFO labor union confirmed that it received an offer by the Lufthansa management to enter into talks with them, but vowed to continue the strike on Friday.

UFO spokesman Nicoley Baublies told reporters that they will have talks with the management over the weekend on a possible arbitration.

“If that won’t be successful, we could announce on Monday further strike dates,” he stressed.

On Thursday, the strike grounded hundreds of Lufthansa flights in its major hubs in Munich and Frankfurt.

The company said on Twitter that it had to cancel nearly 700 flights scheduled for Thursday and around 600 flights scheduled for Friday due to the strike.

The cancelled flights were likely to affect about 180,000 passengers.

Earlier this week, the UFO called for a 48-hour strike on Thursday and Friday, demanding better pay and conditions for Lufthansa’s nearly 21,000 cabin staff.

Lufthansa had long rejected UFO’s legal status and its claim that it has the right to negotiate collective agreements with the company.