Lufthansa Pilot Strike to be Followed Immediately by Two-Day Cabin Crew Walkout

Travelers flying through Germany are facing a second wave of major cancellations this week as the Lufthansa cabin crew union, UFO, announced a short-notice strike for Wednesday, April 15, and Thursday, April 16. 

The walkout targets departures for both Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine, but no other Lufthansa Group airline including SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss, and Lufthansa City Airlines. 

This announcement follows an ongoing 48-hour pilot strike led by the Vereinigung Cockpit union, which has already grounded hundreds of flights on Monday and Tuesday. The back-to-back labor actions have effectively created a four-day nightmare at the airline’s primary hubs in Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC), which is expected to impact thousand of flights.

Lufthansa and Eurowings pilots began their walkout on Monday, April 13, leading to the cancellation of 800 flights and affecting approximately 100,000 passengers on the first day alone. While the pilot strike is scheduled to end on Tuesday night, the cabin crew walkout will begin immediately after, starting at 12:01 AM on Wednesday.

Lufthansa typically says it aims to operate roughly 30–35% of its European and domestic schedule during these kind of major strike periods.

According to FlightAware, as on Monday evening, Lufthansa has grounded 35 flights—representing 77% of its total scheduled. Lufthansa CityLine is facing an even steeper shutdown, with 128 cancellations accounting for 92% of its daily flights. Frankfurt (FRA), which currently tops the world’s airport cancellation list, has had 271 flights scrubbed, and Munich (MUC) follows closely with 175 cancellations.

The airline has introduced flexible rebooking options to help passengers navigate the disruption. Travelers with tickets issued on or before April 11, 2026, for travel between April 13 and April 16, may rebook their flights for any date through April 21, 2026, at no additional cost. The airline is also offering full refunds for those who choose not to travel.