In the fight for better working conditions, the Eurowings pilots are stepping down from work. Düsseldorf Airport is particularly affected. However, the airline is confident of being able to carry out more than half of today’s connections.
Pilots of the airline Eurowings went on a three-day strike in the morning. The industrial action began as planned, said a spokesman for the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union. No other offer was submitted. The Lufthansa subsidiary assumes that despite the industrial action, more than 230 of the around 400 flights planned for Monday will take place. Eurowings also expects to be able to carry out more than half of the planned flight program for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Düsseldorf Airport was hit particularly hard by the strike. According to the Eurowings airport, 102 of the 171 Eurowings flights planned for Monday were canceled before the official start of the strike. 43 connections were canceled in Cologne/Bonn, and 40 take-offs and landings were canceled in Stuttgart.
It is the second time in less than 14 days that pilots at the Lufthansa subsidiary have stopped working. During the first strike on October 6, about half of all flights were canceled. Tens of thousands of passengers therefore had to switch to other flights or the train – or postpone their journey.
The fact that a large part of the flights can take place despite the strike is not least due to the fact that the machines of the Austrian subsidiary Eurowings Europe are not affected by the industrial action. They fly during the strike “under full load,” it said. The airline Eurowings Discover, which operates from Frankfurt and Munich, is also not affected by VC’s current strike call. In addition, the Lufthansa subsidiary uses aircraft from partner companies, which also otherwise carry out some of the flights.
The Cockpit Association had called on the Eurowings pilots to lay down their work from midnight today up to and including Wednesday. The union explained that the reason for this was the employer’s insufficient offer for the collective agreement. In the industrial action, she wants to achieve better working conditions for the pilots. Eurowings criticized the strike as disproportionate and irresponsible.
Eurowings asks customers to find out about the status of their flight on the website or via the Eurowings app. The passengers should be offered other travel options – such as switching to the train or rebooking on another flight.
