Lufthansa pilots’ strike cancels flights

Lufthansa has cancelled 876 of roughly 3,000 flights scheduled for today as pilots began a two-day strike. The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union called the two-day strike after Lufthansa has refused to abandon its cost-reduction strategy. The airline has requested mediation but VC has refused as it first seeks a better offer from Lufthansa management. VC wants a 3.7% annual pay increase for 5,400 pilots over a five-year period from 2012; this is compared to the 2.5% already offered by Lufthansa for over the six years to 2019.