More flights cancelled as Lufthansa strike continues

Flights to the Gulf region will continue to be affected on Friday with the announcement of a 24-hour strike throughout Germany by the Independent Flight Attendants Organisation (UFO), Gulf News has learned in an email statement by Lufthansa Airlines.

Two flights from Muscat to Riyadh and from Bahrain to Doha were cancelled on Thursday, while several more that operate to and from the GCC will also be cancelled on Friday, as a result of the continued strike by the cabin crew of the German airline.

“Lufthansa’s priority is to look after its passengers and regrets any inconvenience caused by the strike measures. Lufthansa will do its best to minimise the impact. We encourage passengers to check www.lufthansa.com under ‘Current Travel Information’ for the latest updates on flight cancellations,” said Aage Dünhaupt, Director Lufthansa Group Communications, Southeast Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Alternate flight

“If their particular flights are cancelled, Lufthansa rebooks them on an alternate flight. Lufthansa passengers who have stored their mobile phone number or their email addresses online in their customer profile or who have stated their mobile phone on the booking form will be informed actively via SMS or email if their flights are cancelled,” added Dünhaupt.

The six cancelled flights on Friday are Dubai-Frankfurt-Dubai, Abu Dhabi-Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi, Dubai-Munich-Dubai, Kuwait-Frankfurt-Kuwait, Frankfurt-Doha and Frankfurt-Riyadh.

The cancelled flights are the second in a series of cancellations that have hit the region following the strike by airline workers at three of Germany’s biggest airports. The first set of cancellations occurred on Tuesday, when the UFO urged cabin workers to stage an eight hour walkout that affected close to 300 flights at the airports in Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin. The strikes forced Lufthansa to cancel three flights to the region and rebook the affected passengers to alternative flights.

The strikes began on August 31 when the UFO called for workers to go on strike and demand a five per cent increase in pay, better working conditions, guarantees against outsourcing and the use of temporary workers.

Rohma Sadaqat is a trainee at Gulf News.