BERLIN, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Germany's Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) said it was expected to drop 800 flights on Friday, likely to affect 130,000 passengers, after the pilots' union announced a one-day strike.
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The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) association said late on Wednesday that pay talks had broken down and Lufthansa pilots would stage a 24-hour strike starting shortly after 12pm on Thursday, affecting both passenger management and cargo operations. understand more
Lufthansa said the flight cancellations would affect air terminals in Frankfurt and Munich, adding that several flights would also have to be canceled on Thursday.
The VC firm is seeking a 5.5% compensation increase this year for more than 5,000 pilots and compensation for planned expansion.
"We want to quickly return to discussions," a Lufthansa representative said on Thursday. "However, we cannot bear any cost increase related to the VC's demands," he added.
Strikes and staffing shortages have proactively forced carriers including Lufthansa to drop a large number of flights in the middle of the year this year and caused hours-long queues at major air terminals, confusing tourists who quickly left after the COVID-19 closures.
Lufthansa has already faced strike activity by security staff and ground staff over pay earlier this year.
The carrier said it was doing everything it could to limit the impact of Friday's pilot strike, but could not prevent cancellations or delays in this mood until the end of the week.
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Michael Niggemann, Lufthansa's head of HR, said the strike was extensive and guarded the carrier's "wonderful and socially adjusted" offer.
Lufthansa has offered 900 euros ($901.35) each month in basic compensation in two phases north of an 18-month period, as well as a deal that will give cockpit staff the size of a basic army.
Germany's antitrust authority on Thursday additionally barred Lufthans from ending its long-haul partnership with sanctioned plane Condor until further notice, saying the public carrier was preventing Condor from fighting for long-haul routes.
Lufthansa said it respected the cartel authority's choice, adding: "However, we do not share the opinion of the Bundeskartellamt and will subsequently submit this choice to a legal review."