Hundreds of Lufthansa flights cancelled as pilots hold 2-day strike

Hundreds of Lufthansa flights were cancelled across Germany on Thursday as the carrier's pilots began a two-day strike action amid an ongoing pay and pensions dispute.

A total of 400 connections were scrapped at the airline's main hub in Frankfurt, while 230 flights were cancelled at Munich airport, operators said.

Connecting flights from other German airports to Munich and Frankfurt were also affected, a spokesman for Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport said.

Lufthansa has said that at least half of the scheduled flights will operate on both strike days. On long-haul routes, up to 60% of flights are expected to take off.

The pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit said the walkout will be smaller in scale than the first wave of industrial action a month ago.

The union has called on more than 5,000 pilots from Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Cityline to join the 48-hour strike.

The airline and the union remain divided over pay increases at the regional subsidiary CityLine and over higher company pensions for pilots at Lufthansa Cargo and the core Lufthansa airline.

Union leader Andreas Pinheiro has said he expects around 300 flight cancellations per day, which he said would be enough to achieve the desired impact.

Lufthansa said about 800 flights were cancelled during the first wave of strikes on February 12, in which the cabin crew union UFO also took part.

The airline has condemned the strike as an unnecessary escalation, especially at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty due to the war in Iran, which is impacting air travel worldwide.

Flights to the Middle East have been excluded from the strike action.