A strike by about 4,000 Lufthansa cabin and ground staff over
pay caused only minor disruption in Germany on Monday but a number
of European flights were likely be cancelled on Tuesday, the
airline said.
Maintenance work on nine aircraft, six in Frankfurt and three in
Munich, was not performed as scheduled and they would not be
available for flights, said a Lufthansa spokesman.
He said no intercontinental flights would be cancelled.
The open-ended strike began on Monday and hit Germany's largest
airports, including international flight hubs Frankfurt and
Hamburg.
The impact of the strike by members of the Verdi services union
would grow in coming days, said union officials.
Verdi said the strike would spread to Berlin's two airports, Tegel
and Schoenefeld, as well as Stuttgart and Nuremberg.
Some analysts have put the cost of the strike at about five million
euros ($NZ 10.5 million) a day for Lufthansa, Europe's
second-biggest airline by passenger numbers.
Like other airlines, Lufthansa is under pressure to keep costs down
due to soaring fuel prices.
"We have had 1,000 flights fly so far today without any major
problems - no cancellations and only a few minor delays," the
Lufthansa spokesman said at midday.
Television pictures showed planes taking off as usual and departure
boards indicating only short delays.
Lufthansa said it had limited the impact of the walkouts by
taking preventative action, such as re-assigning non-striking staff
to other tasks.
"Today we have come through relatively well. It is difficult to
predict how things will look tomorrow or on other days," the
spokesman said.
Verdi said the aim of the strike was to hurt the company rather
than to cause many cancellations.
German media reported many passengers had turned to other airlines
rather than risk delays with Lufthansa.
"Our strike is going very well," Verdi negotiator Erhard Ott told
ZDF television, adding that cargo, maintenance and catering had
been hit.
Verdi, which represents 52,000 airline industry workers, wants a
9.8% pay rise for one year. Lufthansa is offering 6.7% over 21
months and a one-off payment.
Ninety-one percent of union members backed the strike in a
ballot.
Other unions have said they will not join the strike, among them
the UFO union which says it is the main union for cabin crew and is
demanding a 15% pay rise for its members.
Several German unions are seeking more pay because of rising
inflation in Europe's biggest economy.
