Things could get complicated for the up to 70,000 passengers who want to travel with Eurowings today: the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union is on strike all day, and around half of the flights are likely to be cancelled.
Eurowings pilots have gone on a day-long strike. The industrial action began as planned, said a spokesman for the Vereinigung Cockpit union (VC). Eurowings assumes that around half of all flights will be canceled on Thursday. On average, Eurowings operates around 500 flights a day, transporting 50,000 to 70,000 passengers to destinations in Germany and Europe.
The VC has called for a walkout at the Lufthansa subsidiary after the negotiations on a collective agreement had failed. Eurowings is planning on Thursday primarily with machines from the Austrian subsidiary Eurowings Europe, which is not on strike, but also with planes from partner companies that also carry out some of the flights. The situation varies greatly depending on the airport, a company spokesman said on Wednesday.
Airports such as Mallorca, Stockholm or Prague, which are frequently served by Eurowings Europe, are less affected. On the other hand, it hit the German targets above average. According to the airport, 118 flights are likely to be canceled in Düsseldorf alone, the largest Eurowings location. Another 60 are to take place. In Cologne/Bonn, 61 of the planned 90 flights were canceled.
Eurowings asks customers to find out about the status of their flight on the website www.eurowings.com or via the Eurowings app. The passengers should be offered other travel options – such as switching to the train or rebooking on another flight.
The VC is calling on its members to walk out because the negotiations on a collective agreement have failed. The union is in the conflict about better working conditions. A central requirement is the relief of employees, for example by reducing the maximum flight duty times.
Eurowings criticizes the strike as disproportionate and irresponsible. Personnel manager Kai Duve called the demands “in times when millions of people fear a cold winter and the next heating bill” excessive and dangerous for the future of flight operations and jobs.