“It is a signal that cannot be ignored,” said the union.
Earlier this week there was already a massive strike at Lufthansa by the ground staff. Vereinigung Cockpit now hopes to restart negotiations with the management as soon as possible, “with even more support from the base”.
Lufthansa has about 5,500 pilots. No less than 97.6 percent of those active in passenger transport support the strike weapon, compared to 99.3 percent among cargo pilots. The pilots demand 5.5 percent more wages this year, and afterwards wage indexation that automatically follows inflation. The union also wants job security.
The ground staff wants 9.5 percent more wages. It went on strike last Wednesday, causing some 1,000 flights to be canceled and 134,000 Lufthansa passengers having their travel plans disrupted.