The Lufthansa subsidiary, Discover Airlines, was forced to cancel a number of flights on Tuesday as its pilots and cabin crew began a four-day strike.
A handful of flights were affected, including two long-haul departures and two return flights on shorter routes, a Discover spokeswoman said.
Discover operates 27 aircraft from Munich and Frankfurt to various holiday destinations in Europe and overseas.
The airline is facing days of disruption after the VC pilots’ union and the UFO cabin crew union launched a strike to protest a collective agreement that rival verdi union reached with management. The two smaller unions want to push through their own agreements with the airline.
Despite the strike, Discover said around 55 flights were planned on Tuesday, and around 270 over the entire four-day period.
“Our priority for the next few days remains to operate as many flights as possible for our passengers,” the company explained.
Some short-haul flights could be taken over by partner airlines such as the flagship Lufthansa, which will not result in any changes to passengers’ travel plans, the spokesperson said.
The airline has a staff complement of almost 2,000, including 500 pilots and 1,400 cabin crew, with the remainder in administration. The exact number of unionized employees is unknown.
Source: dpa
