Lufthansa pilot strike averted after agreement reached

A second strike by Lufthansa pilots was averted at the last minute when the airline and union came to an agreement over future pilot pay.

The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union on Monday announced a second strike would start today and run for 24 hours for passenger pilots and 48 hours for cargo pilots.

However, yesterday afternoon the union announced an agreement had been reached.

“Fortunately, the cockpit association and Lufthansa agreed on a partial solution this Tuesday,” VC said.

“A comprehensive package of monetary and structural issues was essentially agreed and is awaiting elaboration in the coming days.”

Lufthansa said that yesterday’s talks came after the VC Union’s collective bargaining demand was changed last Friday as a result of a ruling by the Munich labour court.

“The previous demand for automated inflation compensation has been replaced by a demand for an annual pay increase of 8.2% starting in 2023 – in addition to a 5.5% increase this year,” Lufthansa said.

The strike that took place last Friday resulted in the airline cancelling 800 flights at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.