Lufthansa To Cancel Flights To And From Frankfurt, Munich Due To Ver.di Strike; Stock Down

(RTTNews) - Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DLAKF, DLAKY), Germany's flag carrier, Tuesday said that almost all Lufthansa flights to and from its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich for Wednesday have been canceled due to the strike announced by trade union ver.di.

Lufthansa shares were losing around 3 percent in German trading.

It was on Monday that the trade union called on the about 20,000 ground employees of Lufthansa to stage a warning strike from Wednesday, 27 July at 3.45 a.m. until Thursday morning, 28 July at 6.00 a.m. following remuneration talks.

Lufthansa now said that there may be individual flight cancellations or delays on Thursday and Friday, and that it is working flat out to return flight operations to normal as quickly as possible during the peak travel season.

In Frankfurt, a total of 678 flights will have to be canceled, including 32 already on Tuesday and 646 on Wednesday. This is expected to affect 92,000 passengers.

At the Munich hub, a total of 345 flights will have to be canceled, 15 of them already on Tuesday and 330 on Wednesday. It is expected that 42,000 passengers will be affected.

The affected passengers will be informed immediately and rebooked on alternative flights if possible. However, the capacities available for this are very limited.

Michael Niggemann, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said, "The early escalation of a previously constructive collective bargaining round is causing enormous damage....In view of our high offer with very substantial pay increases over the next 12 months of more than 10 percent more in the pay groups up to 3,000 euros monthly basic pay and a 6 percent increase for a monthly basic pay of 6,500 euros, this so-called warning strike is in the middle of the peak summer travel season is simply no longer proportionate."

In Germany, Deutsche Lufthansa shares were trading at 5.88 euros, down 2.47 percent.