Lufthansa cancels hundreds more flights

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) – German airline Lufthansa cancelled over 900 flights scheduled for Thursday as a strike by its pilots entered a second day.

In a statement released late on Wednesday, the airline said the strike had grounded a total of 1,800 flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, affecting more than 215,000 passengers.

Pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit decided to extend its two-day strike to Friday, further increasing pressure on the airline.

The union, which represents 5,400 pilots at Lufthansa, is demanding a 3.7 percent annual pay rise for its members.

Lufthansa said strikes on Friday would affect all of its flights within Germany and Europe, but long-haul flights from Frankfurt and Munich would operate as scheduled.

“The third consecutive day of strikes will once more hurt business travellers, tourists and commuters,” the German carrier said, urging the union to accept compromise.

“Lufthansa is therefore appealing to Vereinigung Cockpit once more to accept the offer of mediation and return to the bargaining table. It is the only place where a compromise can be reached,” it said.

But the union accused the management of Lufthansa for not coming up with a new offer.

“The Lufthansa management takes no step forward; so far they have not presented any negotiable offer,” Joerg Handwerg, executive member of the union said.

Lufthansa pilots have staged more than a dozen strikes since April 2014, due to a long-running labor dispute.