All flights to and from Manchester with German airline Lufthansa have been cancelled today due to strike action.
The protest means around 100 flights – departures and arrivals – have been cancelled at airports across the UK.
Passengers affected by the cancellations are urged to contact the airline if they were due to fly with Lufthansa today, however they will be able to re-book for free.
Manchester Airport was due to have 13 departures and 13 arrivals using the airline today – all of which have been cancelled.
The one-day strike is the result of a pay dispute, after the airline rejected the ver.di trade union’s demands for wage increases of 5.2% over the next year as well as job guarantees.
The other UK airports affected are London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dublin.
German airports hit by the strike are Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg.
Only about 20 of more than 1,650 scheduled short-haul flights will be operating, and long-haul services will also be hit.
The airline said many long-haul services will also be hit, with only six of 50 planned flights operating at its main Frankfurt hub, and only three of 17 in Munich.
On Friday, the union announced the one-day ‘warning strike’, which is commonly used by German unions to raise pressure in wage talks.
Last year, an arbitrator was called in by the airline and a union representing cabin crews to settle a pay dispute after the union staged a series of short-term stoppages that caused numerous flight cancellations.
Picture courtesy of Wanderlinse, via Flickr, with thanks.
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