Second Such Strike In Two Months Against The European Legacy Carrier

Ground workers upset with the progress of contract negotiations with Lufthansa called a one-day strike against the airline Monday, nearly grounding the airline for a day. The BBC reports that only 32 of a scheduled 1,700 scheduled Lufthansa flights operated Monday.

On its website, Lufthansa posted a notice indicating that due to the announced strike actions nearly all Lufthansa flights within Germany and Europe would be cancelled. Only a select few short-haul flights operated on Monday, such as in Berlin, where strike actions were expected to end by 2:30pm CET. "In all, only 20 of the 1,650 planned Lufthansa short-haul flights on Monday will operate due to the limited flight schedule," the statement said.

In addition to the cancellations in Germany and Europe, the airline also cancelled all but a handful of long haul flights beginning Sunday April 21. Of the 50 planned flights in Frankfurt, only six remained on the schedule; in Munich, of the 17 planned flights, only three departed. In Dusseldorf all three long-haul flights were scheduled to operate as planned.

Flights operated by Germanwings were not affected.

A Lufthansa spokesman told Reuters that the strike ... the second in two months ... was "completely out of proportion" to the workers complaints. He said that dates for ongoing compensation talks have been agreed to.

Lufthansa is working to reduce its bottom line in the face of competition from low-cost carriers as well as larger airlines based in the Persian Gulf region. Rising fuel prices also continue to be a concern.

But the airline reportedly recently rejected a union call for a 5.2 percent wage increase over the next year, as well as increased job security.

The short "warning strikes" are a tactic used often by German labor unions as a way to put pressure on management during negotiations.

On it's website, Lufthansa said it "regrets any inconvenience to Lufthansa passengers caused by the threatened strike measures by ver.di and will do its utmost to minimize impacts on passengers. Passenger support and service has paramount priority.

FMI: www.lufthansa.com