Lufthansa Strike Wave to Last Through Friday as Pilots Call Another 48-Hour Walkout

The nightmare of a week for Lufthansa flyers is going to continue through at least Friday.

After a strike earlier in the week by the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) grounded flights on April 13 and 14, and then a strike by the cabin crew union UFO that did the same on April 14 and 15, another strike by VC has been called for Thursday and Friday.

The new strike, which VC announced on Wednesday, impacts Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa CityLine, and Eurowings (Eurowings pilots are striking specifically on Thursday).

The back-to-back-to-back strikes mean Lufthansa will have faced strikes on six consecutive weekdays, expected to lead to a total of more than 2,700 flights cancelled over the six days. On Wednesday alone, according to FlightAware, Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine have seen a combined 706 cancellations and 134 delays as of early morning. Frankfurt International (FRA) is bearing the brunt of the disruption with 239 departures and 212 arrivals already cancelled, while Munich International (MUC) has seen 150 departures and 119 arrivals removed from the board.

The impact is being felt most at those Lufthansa’s hubs in Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC). Around 100,000 passengers at those airports were impacted by that first VC strike, with 100,000 more expected to be impacted by the current cabin crew strike. That number will grow even larger with the second VC strike.

All of that comes as Lufthansa celebrates its centennial anniversary in Frankfurt with a ceremony that will feature German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Lufthansa will allow passengers with tickets issued on or before April 11 for travel through April 17 to rebook their flights once free of charge for a new travel date through April 21, 2026. For those whose flights have already been canceled or delayed by more than three hours, it is offering a full refund.

For travelers within Germany, Lufthansa is offering the option to convert canceled domestic flight tickets into Deutsche Bahn rail vouchers free of charge via their website or mobile app. The airline is also maintaining its “duty of care” obligations, which include providing meal vouchers for significant delays and arranging hotel accommodations for passengers stranded overnight.