Lufthansa pilots begin strike over retirement benefits

Lufthansa pilots walked off their job on Tuesday to commence an industrial action over disagreement with the airline on retirement benefits.

This would be the fifth time in 2014 that the pilots would be resorting to industrial action.

Lufthansa pilots’ union leader, Vereinigung Cockpit, said the industrial action would affect activities at Germany’s largest airport in Frankfurt, the capital of the country.

He said travellers were expected to face fresh disruptions as long-haul flights would also be affected.

Cockpit said the Airbus A380, A330, A340 and Boeing B747 would feel the effect of the action.

He said the airline has instituted a special flight plan to enable more than half of its planned intercontinental flights to take place.

“We are confident that we can fulfill our special flight plan,” he said.

Cockpit said the union was forced to resort to such measures as talks with the Lufthansa management were deadlocked and it had not been offered a compromise.

Tuesday’s strike action comes just as pilots at Air France ended a two-week strike over that airline’s cost-cutting plans.

That strike cost Air France more than $254 million, according to management.