Eurowings pilots announce three-day strike from Monday

Brussels, Oct 15: Pilots at Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings will begin a three-day strike at midnight Monday, according to the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC).

Union Spokesman Matthias Baer said Friday that Eurowings management was stalling in collective bargaining talks over workplace conditions, leaving pilots no other choice but to strike.

As was the case in a previous strike on October 6, this move will only apply to German Eurowings and not to Austrian-licensed Eurowings Europe, nor to Eurowings Discover.

It is expected that smaller regional airports will be most severely affected, rather than the airline's two main hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

What is the Eurowings strike about?

At issue is a dispute over the number of hours pilots are required to work as well as how much downtime they should be afforded between flights.

"This strike would not be necessary if Eurowings would negotiate with us on an equal footing," said Baer.

Union leadership said collective bargaining talks between the pilots and Eurowings had broken down after management offered "insufficient and non-negotiable" terms.

The union is fighting for longer breaks between shorter assignments, saying cockpit personnel are overworked.

Management has brushed off such demands as "excessive," saying they would make 20% of the airlines flights impossible and ultimately threaten jobs.

Lufthansa strikes in 2022

The previous Eurowings strike forced the cancelation of roughly half of the airlines' 500 daily domestic and European flights, stranding some 30,000 passengers.

In September, Lufthansa had to cancel 800 flights as pilots from the main carrier went on strike, affecting schedules in the major hubs of Frankfurt and Munich in particular.

A threatened walkout by ground staff had forced the company to cancel more than 1,000 flights in August.

Source: DW