Chaos at Delhi airport, delays abroad: Why are Lufthansa pilots on strike?

Lufthansa pilots are going on strike across the world, leaving the airline’s planes grounded and its passengers fuming.Germany’s flagship has already cancelled around 800 flights around the world including two Frankfurt and Munich-bound planes from India – resulting in hundreds of passengers protesting outside Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday.Let’s take a closer look at why the airline pilots are striking and the resulting chaos in Delhi and other countries:Why are the pilots striking?This is an escalation of an ongoing wage dispute, as per ReutersThe union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), told Reuters that pay talks had failed and that the strike would affect pilots for the passenger airline as well as its cargo division.The union has demanded a 5.5 per cent pay rise this year for its more than 5,000 pilots and automatic inflation compensation thereafter.

Pilots also say staffing levels are not high enough to meet increased travel demand.

Pilots at Lufthansa's subsidiary Eurowings on Wednesday voted in favour of strikes but first want to continue wage negotiations with their employer.Some 97.7% of the pilots voted in favour of the action, said VC.Negotiations will resume next week.Lufthansa earlier this month reached a pay deal with ground staff, averting further walkouts after a strike had forced it to cancel more than 1,000 flights.What do both sides claim?As per Hindustan Times, Lufthansa said it had presented an offer with an 18-month term – under which Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots will receive 900 euros more in basic pay per month in two stages – a move the company claimed would benefit entry-level salaries in particular.An entry-level co-pilot will receive more than 18 per cent additional basic pay over the duration of the agreement, while a captain in the final stage will receive five per cent.With the agreement for the ground staff, the group has shown that it is prepared to make significant pay increases, it said.Bloomberg quoted Lufthansa as saying it as “absolutely no understanding” for the decision to strike, after making what it called “a very good and socially balanced offer.”

The airline claims that meeting the demands put forth would inflate payroll costs more than 40 per cent.

"We hope to get back to negotiations as soon as possible," a Lufthansa spokesperson said on Thursday as per Hindustan Times. "However, we cannot bear cost increases associated with VC's demands either."“We want solutions at the negotiating table,” Lufthansa personnel chief Michael Niggemann was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. He added that what the company has tabled is “a good basis for continuing talks.”However, the union representative was more circumspect.“We’re too far apart at the moment,” Marcel Groels, head of collective bargaining at the VC pilots’ union, said as per Bloomberg."We have not received a sufficient offer today either. This is sobering and a missed opportunity," said VC spokesperson Matthias Baier.Delays abroad, protests in DelhiAs per Bloomberg, around 130,000 passengers around the world are expected to be affected by the action."An estimated 1,30,000 passengers will be affected, in view of the upcoming weekend, the end of the holidays in some parts of Europe. Lufthansa is working with joint forces to return its flight operations to a normal status as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the effects of the strike may still lead to individual flight cancellations or delays this Saturday and Sunday," it said in a statement, as per The Telegraph.The airline has noted that the strike will have a ‘significant impact’ on flight operations and that passengers will be affected as tens of thousands of people return home after the end of the summer holidays in European countries, as per Hindustan Times.Strikes and staff shortages have already forced airlines including Lufthansa to cancel thousands of flights this summer and caused hours-long queues at major airports, frustrating holidaymakers keen to travel after COVID-19 lockdowns.All this as workers face inflation, which is exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine.Sources told The Telegraph Delhi airport witnesses chaos early Friday morning with around 450 passengers being stranded.[caption id="attachment_11170441" align="alignnone" width="640"]

The Delhi Airport seen crowded following cancellations of Lufthansa flights. Image courtesy: @RohitChhabra23[/caption]According to police, more than 100 people, relatives and family members of the stranded passengers, gathered outside the airport and demanded refunds or alternate arrangements.

The passengers were later provided refreshments and accommodation, as per The Telegraph.

Information was received on Friday at 12.15 am that a crowd has gathered on the main road in front of departure gate number 1, Terminal 3 IGI Airport, a senior police officer said.The crowd which caused a traffic jam outside demanded a refund or alternate arrangement for their relatives who were present inside the terminal building, Deputy Commissioner of Police (airport) Tanu Sharma said.When they were told that the flights had been cancelled without any prior intimation, they became agitated. They were later pacified by the CISF and the airport staff.Two flights of Lufthansa, one of them scheduled to depart at 2.50 am for Frankfurt with 300 passengers, and another for Munich with 400 passengers and scheduled to depart at 1.10 am, were cancelled, the DCP said.Stranded passengers and their relatives  also protested last night at Delhi airport.Security concerns had arisen at the Delhi airport last night due to the movement of Lufthansa passengers at the terminal building following the cancellation of a Lufthansa Airlines flight.In a viral video, passengers were seen shouting at the airport, asking for justice and a refund. Officials have pointed out that most of those supposed to travel by Lufthansa last night were students.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.