Lufthansa strike dates 2022: when do pilots walkout, will strikes affect UK travel, how long will it last?

Pilots at German airline Lufthansa are set to strike again this week, after a previous walk out hit flights to the UK.

The company said it would make an improved offer to pilots today to stop an escalation of wage dispute.

This would be the second strike in a week after pilots staged a walkout on Friday (2 September) which led to hundreds of flights being cancelled.

Why are Lufthansa pilots striking?

The Vereinigung Cockpit union has called for a 5.5% raise for its members this year, and an 8.2% increase against inflation for next year. Pilots are also seeking new holiday structure and pay.

These measures would increase its staffing costs by about 40%, or around 900 million euros over two years, and do not take into account the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, said the airline.

So far, the airline has offered a 500 euro increase from 1 September this year and 400 euros from 1 April, 2023, said Lufthansa.

However, the union said the company could avert the two-day strike planned with a “serious offer”.

VC spokesperson Matthias Baier said: “We have not received a sufficient offer today, either. This is sobering and a missed opportunity.”

When will the strikes be? 

Another strike is planned for pilots on Wednesday and Thursday (6 & 7 September 2022) with cargo pilots striking from Wednesday through to Friday (7 to 9 September). This is more than 5,000 pilots.

In a statement, the airline said the escalation was regrettable in light of planned talks on Tuesday: “We will nevertheless do everything possible, even under time pressure, to succeed with an improved offer.”

Chief executive Carsten Spor said late on Monday the airline planned to hire nearly 20,000 new employees by the end of next year as the aviation industry recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

How will the strikes affect UK travel? 

Lufthansa pilots walked out on 2 September, with more than 800 flights and 130,000 passengers affected.

This included flights from Munich and Frankfurt flying to the UK - with the Frankfurt to London Heathrow service cancelled that day.

For legal reasons, only employees in Germany could take industrial action, and national and international Lufthansa subsidiaries were not recently affected.

A Lufthansa spokesman said: “We very much regret that the union is continuing on the path of escalation.”

This article will be updated.