The cancellations are attributed to ongoing strikes taking place at the airline's primary Frankfurt and Munich hubs. This latest disruption comes after the grounding of the airline's entire fleet on Wednesday due to an IT incident.
As per a statement by a Lufthansa spokesperson on Thursday, the airline will be eliminating flights on Friday in response to a 24-hour strike by ground crew at its two largest airports. This decision is likely to cause significant inconvenience for attendees of the Munich Security Conference, a key yearly gathering for defense and foreign policymakers.
Lufthansa's operations are facing further disruption after a recent incident on Wednesday when telecommunication cables were accidentally cut, leading to the grounding of the airline's fleet for a significant portion of the day. The upcoming strike, scheduled for tomorrow, is the most recent in a series of walkouts as employees demand improved conditions to counter rising living expenses.
Customers of Lufthansa had to endure a challenging summer, marked by delays and strikes at Germany's largest airports, as labor unions advocated for better pay deals. Moreover, the recent rise in gas and energy prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has driven German inflation higher.
The rolling strikes have created additional disruptions for travelers, adding to a difficult few months marked by long queues and misplaced baggage at airports across Europe, from London Heathrow to Dusseldorf in Germany. These challenges have come as a surprise to many airlines and airport operators, who had not anticipated such a significant resurgence in demand.