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Lufthansa pilots to go on strike but exempt Middle East flights
Lufthansa pilots are striking over pension and wage disputes, causing hundreds of cancellations but excluding flights to Middle East destinations, union says.
- Pilots at Lufthansa will strike for two days beginning tomorrow, March 12, 2026, over a pensions dispute, the Vereinigung Cockpit union announced. The action affects passenger and cargo flights departing from German airports through Friday, March 13.
- Vereinigung Cockpit leaders cited "the failure of negotiations on a new collective wage agreement" as the driver for this action. Union president Pinheiro noted there was "still no offer on the table" from Lufthansa following a strike last month.
- The union excluded flights to several key Middle East destinations, including Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, "in light of the current situation" to maintain service continuity in the region.
- Lufthansa is "working intensively to keep the impact on our passengers as low as possible" by rebooking travelers onto partner airlines. Passengers should check flight status, as the strike will cause severe disruption and hundreds of cancellations.
- Last week, the Lufthansa Group reported a forecast-beating operating profit of €1.96 billion, around 20 percent higher than the previous year, contrasting with union claims of stalled wage negotiations. This financial tension underlies the labor dispute.
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For two days, Germany's larger airline will be on strike. What are the claims of travellers when their Lufthansa flight is cancelled? Overview of the most important information.
The VC trade union called on the pilots of Lufthansa and its subsidiaries Cargo and Cityline to strike for two days on Thursday and Friday tomorrow. The reason for the dispute was that the Group did not want to talk about substantial improvements in the tariff pension scheme.
The last time the pilots went on strike was in February.
The last time pilots went on strike was in February, when 800 flights were canceled, affecting roughly 100,000 passengers.
Lufthansa is facing another strike: The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots' union has called on more than 5,000 pilots to walk off the job on Thursday and Friday. Hundreds of cancellations are expected – however, flights from the Middle East are explicitly excluded.
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