Lufthansa cancels over 1,000 flights over planned strike

German flag carrier Lufthansa has cancelled more than 1,000 flights due to a strike organized by a union for July 27, the company said on Tuesday.

Almost all inbound and outbound Lufthansa flights at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich have been called off, the company said in a statement.

Since dozens of flights were already cancelled on Tuesday, Lufthansa has had to cancel a total of 1,023 flights at airports in Frankfurt and Munich. The move affects an estimated 1,34,000 passengers.

"The warning strike announced by trade union Verdi is having a massive operational impact in the middle of the peak travel season," Lufthansa said in a statement.

Verdi has called for a warning strike from Wednesday till Thursday morning. The labour action involves around 20,000 Lufthansa employees working at the ground units as salary negotiations are ongoing.

Michael Niggemann, a member of the Executive Board and chief officer of human resources Deutsche Lufthansa AG, blasted the trade union for organizing the warning strike.

"This is all the more incomprehensible given that the employer side has offered high and socially balanced pay increases -- despite the continuing tense economic situation for Lufthansa following the COVID crisis, high debt burdens and uncertain prospects for the global economy."

People in Germany are wrestling with a cost-of-living crisis as inflation runs wild, standing at 7.6 per cent in June after hitting a record high of 7.9 per cent in May.