Lufthansa flights return to normal after two-day strike by pilots

Flight operations at Lufthansa returned to normal on Saturday after a two-day strike by pilots ended, the German airline said.

The strike had mainly affected the airline's hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

"During the two strike days, more than 50% of the originally planned flight programme could still be offered. On long-haul routes the share was even 60%," a company spokesman said, downplaying the impact of the industrial action.

The regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine, which was affected by strike action only on Thursday, was even able to operate nearly its full schedule on Friday, the company added.

The striking union Vereinigung Cockpit disputed the company’s assessment.

On the first day of the strike, nearly 80% of the roughly 800 flights originally scheduled by Lufthansa were cancelled, with more than 600 cancellations — more than twice as many as the union had initially forecast, it said in a statement assessing the strike.

According to the union, the second strike day at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo also had a stronger impact than expected.

"Of the around 700 planned flights, more than 550 were cancelled," the union said, describing the strike as "overall very successful."

While the dispute at Lufthansa CityLine centres on pay increases, the conflict involving Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo focuses on demands for higher company pensions.

Other Lufthansa Group airlines were not affected.