Lufthansa is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary, and in the spirit of not straying too far from tradition, pilots at the airline are about to go on strike, causing major disruptions.
In this post:
Lufthansa pilots plan two-day industrial action
Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), the union representing Lufthansa pilots, has announced that Lufthansa pilots (in both the mainline passenger and cargo division) will be going on strike from 12:01AM on Thursday, March 12, 2026, until 11:59PM on Friday, March 13, 2026. Furthermore, Lufthansa CityLine pilots will be going on strike exclusively for one day, from 12:01AM until 11:59PM on March 12, 2026.
These strikes impact flights departing from Germany, with the only exception being flights to & from the Middle East, given the important nature of these services. So any scheduled services to Egypt, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, will operate as planned.
VC President Andreas Pinheiro has apologized to passengers for the strike, saying it can still be averted if management comes to the table:
“We ask affected passengers for their understanding. A strike is always a last resort for us and not an end in itself. Employers still have the opportunity to avert the industrial action by making a negotiable offer.”
Lufthansa has issued a travel advisory for flights on Thursday and Friday, so passengers have the ability to easily rebook. The airline is advising people to check the flight status page to see if their flight will operate, as not all cancellations have been loaded yet.
What is Lufthansa’s pilots union looking for?
So, why are Lufthansa pilots going on strike? It comes down to two main reasons — first, the company pension scheme for pilots at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo, and second, the failed collective bargaining negotiations on remuneration issues at Lufthansa CityLine.
When it comes to pensions for Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo, until 2017, pilots received a traditional company pension with guaranteed payouts. At the company’s insistence, this was replaced by a capital market-financed model that falls significantly short of the previous pension level.
Here’s how VC President Andreas Pinheiro describes this:
“We would have much preferred to avoid further escalation. But there is still no offer on the table. It doesn’t help if the other side only signals a willingness to talk but doesn’t want to discuss substantial improvements to the company pension scheme.”
Meanwhile here’s what Group Collective Bargaining Commission (GTK) spokesperson Arne Karstens has to say:
“We have negotiated long enough without an offer. Seven rounds of negotiations, lengthy periods of consideration, and even a mediated offer – the employer let all of that pass by. We will only continue talks when a negotiable offer is on the table.”
In the case of pay for Lufthansa CityLine pilots, since August 2025, the collective bargaining commission has been negotiating a new wage contract, but claims that a viable offer has not yet been presented. While the company submitted an offer on February 25, 2026, the union considers this offer significantly short of its demands, and unacceptable for its requirement of an absolute no-strike agreement.
Here’s how Karstens describes this:
“This offer was unacceptable to us. It falls far short of our demands and also includes a comprehensive peace obligation for all issues that can be regulated by collective bargaining. This would effectively render VC powerless at CityLine.”
Bottom line
Lufthansa pilots will be going on a two-day strike on Thursday and Friday (with Lufthansa CityLine pilots striking just on Thursday). This is expected to impact a large number of flights departing Germany, with the exception of “essential” Middle East flights.
For mainline pilots, this strike involves delays in negotiating over pensions. Meanwhile for CityLine pilots, the issue revolves around a new contract. As you’d expect, the union says management isn’t willing to make an acceptable offer, though I imagine management would have a different narrative.
Any OMAAT readers flying Lufthansa in the coming days?
Exceptional reading of the room here by Luftyunion. Perhaps only bettered by the hubris of the Hollywood/TV Union strikes
I’m connecting from a United flight to a Lufthansa flight in Frankfurt tomorrow. Lufthansa sent an email yesterday saying I’d be notified if my flight is effected midday today.
Reasons for the strike are clear, but have you checked with the company why they he are not giving concessions? I am a retired Lufthansa employee, a pilot is currently getting 5 times of what I get and we have “the same responsibility “ at this stage.
Often strikes are necessary (and designed to be frustrating and disruptive). Hope the workers can get what they’re going for quickly, and that everyone will resume operations soon, so the other workers, passengers, and the business can continue and improve. Passengers should be supportive of those who make their travels possible.
Hypocrites.
If they wanted "frustrating and disruptive" they should have strike at the heart of the strike, i.e. "flights to & from the Middle East, given the important nature of these services".
Quite the play on words you got there! (Wonder if it translates well to German)
"Passengers should be supportive of those who make their travels possible". This is the exact reason why I, despite being based in MUC, am not loyal to LH and plan 90%+ of my business travel with non-LHG airlines. Simply because I cannot reliably count on them (especially LH) making travels possible.
Ben, you're fortunate to be based in the EU, where, unlike the US, you actually have some decent air passenger rights legislation, including compensation, when airlines fail you (EU261). While nothing is perfect, it's still better. That's why I prefer to fly an EU carrier when flying from NYC to EU countries; if I was on a US-carrier, we'd be out-of-luck, if they had a mechanical issue on the outbound US-EU flight, for instance.