Lufthansa Short & Medium-haul Pilot Strike March 18, 2015

Lufthansa pilot union announced yesterday short and medium-haul pilots would be on strike March 18, 2015.

The strike doesn’t affect Lufthansa’s long-haul flights and those operated by Germanwings, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss or Brussels Airlines and their affiliates. Lufthansa expects to operate many of the affected flights and will publish a list of canceled flights on its website later today.

You can access Lufthansa’s website for the announcement here and BBC’s piece about the story here.

Conclusion

This is now 12^th strike by the airline’s pilot union since the dispute started. The airline wanted to change the retirement age of new pilots that could no longer retire at the age of 55 and the company would pay 60% of their salary until the legal retirement age would kick in.

If your flight tomorrow is affected by the strike, you should call Lufthansa and have them book you on any other airline that can get you from your ticketed origin to the destination. This doesn’t need to be on Lufthansa affiliated airlines or even Star Alliance ones. The airline is legally required to rebook on any available carrier.

The airline is also required to provide care per EC 261/2004. The airline is not required to pay compensation for flights cancelled or delayed by the strike, however.