Deutsche Lufthansa AG passengers in Frankfurt and Munich face an almost complete shutdown of operations on Wednesday as a walkout by ground crew forces Europe’s largest airline group to cancel more than 1,000 flights at its two busiest German hubs.
The airline axed the services at short notice, slamming unions for causing major damage by escalating a wage dispute that Lufthansa said was previously constructive.
With less than 24 hours before the suspension, many international passengers will likely find themselves temporarily stranded, amid little room to rebook onto other flights because of tight capacity.
In total, more than 130,000 passengers will be affected, Lufthansa estimated on Tuesday. The airline called the strike “simply no longer proportionate,” given that it’s offered substantial pay increases, and that the dispute will wreak havoc just as some of Germany’s most populous federal states begin their summer vacation.
“It’s peak travel season and people had been looking forward to their vacation for a really long time,” said Lufthansa spokesman Martin Leutke, calling the strike “incomprehensible” after just two rounds of negotiations as well as exaggerated.
In Frankfurt, Germany’s main airport, a long line of several hundred passengers started forming in front of a desk where stranded travelers hoped to make rebookings or retrieve vouchers for hotels and train tickets. In Frankfurt alone, there were 725 canceled flights, including by Lufthansa and other carriers, the airline said.
Among those stuck was Nadine Lodderstedt, who was due to take a flight from Frankfurt to Seoul on Wednesday but was rebooked via Singapore the night before ahead of the pending disruptions. When that flight was overbooked, she was given the alternative to go in the other direction on a United Airlines flight via San Francisco. Trouble is, Lodderstedt’s luggage had already been checked in for the Singapore flight, meaning she’d arrive in South Korea without her belongings, she was told.
“I will have to travel all the way across the world to maybe spend three days in Seoul,” Lodderstedt said.
While the strike is limited to one day and two airports, the disruption is set to persist into the end of the week, at a time when more travelers prepare to depart for their holiday destinations.
The likely chaos adds to a summer of major dislocations across Europe, where airports and airlines have struggled to accommodate the growth in bookings following the coronavirus slowdown.
As passengers flock to departure halls, they’re confronted with chaotic scenes at airports that lack sufficient staffing to manage the surge. Besides the shortage in workers on the ground, a wave of labor disputes threatens to add to the chaos. Lufthansa pilots have also threatened to go on strike, as employees push for higher pay amid surging inflation.
Lufthansa gained as much as 1.4% in early Frankfurt trading, while Fraport AG, the operator of the Frankfurt airport, rose as much as 0.7%.
