A serious threat hangs over the fate of the remnants of the summer tourist season in Germany German tourism is one step away from disaster. Aviation chaos in the form of flight cancellations, long queues, and delays could be exacerbated by a possible indefinite strike by Lufthansa pilots. If it starts, then in combination with the already existing mess, the situation in air transportation will reach a “critical point” – and a disaster will occur in tourism, as a result of which already millions of German tourists will be left without a vacation.
An indefinite strike is now in question: the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), the union that includes Lufthansa pilots, wants a mid-season vote involving 5,000 pilots. If 70% of the pilots say yes, there will be a strike. The reason is extremely “slow progress” in salary negotiations. German news agency DPA reported that the pilots want a 5 percent pay rise, as well as monthly inflation-adjusted pay increases.
For now, the carrier’s representatives are reassuring tourists, saying they want to find a sustainable solution. “We want to adhere to the agreed negotiation plan. Working together, we want to find a sustainable solution between the growth of inflation and the economic indicators of the company”, – said the representatives of the German national carrier.
In turn, the trade unions declare that no strikes are expected shortly. But if no agreement is reached soon, there could be strikes in the summer, despite all summer flights being fully loaded.