Lufthansa pilots step up strike threat as wage talks hit impasse

Deutsche Lufthansa AG pilots said they have begun preparations to go on strike after failing to reach a wage accord with the airline, potentially creating more chaos after recent labor action already disrupted operations at the height of the summer travel season. 

“At this point we remain far apart,” Matthias Baier, the spokesman for the Vereinigung Cockpit pilot labor union, said in a statement late on Thursday. 

The labor group said it’s initiated the “legal and organizational preparations for strike action,” without providing a timetable. Cockpit said that four days of deliberations to reach a wage accord ended without results last week, and the union said it sees no promising path to continuing negotiations at this point. 

Late last month, the union -- which represents about 9,600 members -- voted overwhelmingly in favor of walkouts. Lufthansa’s pilots are demanding wage increases to help offset the near double-digit rise in consumer prices. 

Strikes would trigger additional cancellations on top of the 7,000 flights the company has scratched this summer due to staffing shortages. A walkout by ground crew caused the carrier to scrap hundreds of flights at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs last month.

Europe’s aviation industry has been plagued by chaotic operations in recent months, partly because of a lack of ground personnel in areas from security to baggage handling, and partly because of strikes at airlines as employees grapple with soaring costs of living. Travel demand has roared back as people return to business trips and vacations after being stuck in lockdowns for the better part of two years.