Lufthansa flight cancellation: Massive crowd gathers outside Delhi Airport seeking refund

A crowd of about 150 people gathered on the main road in front of departure gate 1 of Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport demanding a refund of money or alternate flights for their relatives after Lufthansa announced flight cancellations due to pilot strike on Friday. As per DCP, IGI Airport, due to the gathering of the crowd traffic movement was slowed down, however with the help of staff of IGI airport along with CISF, situation was handled and the crowd was dispersed.

The DCP further mentioned that efforts are underway to make alternate arrangements for the passengers by the airlines. Two Lufthansa flights from Frankfurt and Munich were scheduled to land in Delhi and were cancelled after a massive strike was announced by Lufthansa pilots over wages.

Delhi | Crowd of approx 150 people gathered on main road in front of departure gate no.1, Terminal 3, IGI Airport, around 12 am, demanding refund of money or alternate flights for their relatives as 2 Lufthansa flights bound to Frankfurt & Munich were cancelled: DCP, IGI Airport https://t.co/V2PQBWBErD — ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2022

Reason for Flight cancellations

The German carrier Lufthansa earlier said it is cancelling almost all passenger and cargo flights on Friday from its two biggest hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, due to planned strike action by pilots. A union representing Lufthansa pilots said on early Thursday that they will stage a walk-out after demands for a pay increase were rejected by management.

Lufthansa said some 800 flights would be cancelled, affecting many travellers returning at the end of the summer vacation. The airline's budget carrier Eurowings would not be affected, it said. The union Vereinigung Cockpit accused Lufthansa on Thursday of failing to improve on their previous offer, leaving pilots no choice but to go on strike to press their demands.

Lufthansa's response

According to Lufthansa, the company had offered a one-off increase of 900 euros (USD 900), amounting to a 5per cent increase for senior pilots and an 18 per cent increase for those starting the profession. The union had called for a 5.5 per cent raise this year and an automatic above-inflation increase in 2023.

In addition, pilots are seeking a new pay and holiday structure that the airline said would increase its staffing costs by about 40 per cent, or some 900 million euros over two years.

With PTI inputs