Lufthansa down in Frankfurt, flight attendants strike on Friday
Also weighing on the stock was the two-week extension of the Middle East and Persian Gulf safety alert by the European Aviation Safety Agency
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Turmoil on Lufthansa on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, due to anew industrial action and as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) extends its safety alert on the Middle East and the Persian Gulf by two weeks.
On the evening before, the flight attendants' union Ufo called astrike for employees of the main airline and its regional subsidiary Cityline for Friday. On 10 April, from 00.01 to 22.00, all Lufthansa flights departing from Frankfurt and Munich will be affected by the strike, the Unabhangige Flugbegleiter Organisation (Ufo) indicated. During the same period, Cityline flight attendants are also asked to stop work at nine German airports. At the end of March, the strike was voted by the union members by a large majority after negotiations failed. Lufthansa condemned the action calling it 'disproportionate' and urged the FOU to resume talks.
According to the union, the management has not made any progress, neither in the negotiations to improve the working conditions of the approximately 19,000 Lufthansa flight attendants, nor with regard to the redundancy plan for the 800 Cityline employees, whose closure has been confirmed. The demands focus in particular on more predictable working hours and longer notice periods for dismissals. The industrial action will have a serious impact on passengers returning from Easter holidays, Lufthansa stressed. "Workable solutions can only be found through dialogue, strikes must always remain the last resort," the company insisted.
Ufo and the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit had already called a joint strike at Lufthansa in mid-February, causing numerous flight cancellations. The pilots increased the pressure again in mid-March with a two-day strike and this dispute also remains unresolved. The protest comes at a time already made difficult for air transport by the war in the Middle East, which has resulted in flight cancellations, route changes and increased costs. The situation remains very uncertain, so much so that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has decided to extend until 24 April, the recommendation to airlines to exercise caution and avoid airspace in the Middle East and the Gulf, according to an updated bulletin on conflict zones. The safety alert was initially valid until 10 April.
