Strikewave overshadows Lufthansa's 100-year anniversary

Lufthansa's 100th anniversary gets interrupted by recurring cabin crew strikes. Approximately 20.000 flight attendants are set to strike for 48 hours, bringing work at major airports in Germany to a standstill.

Unions increase pressure on negotiations

On Monday, April 13, 2026, the Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation (Independent Cabin Crew Organisation, or UFO) called on Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline staff to strike due to a lack of progress in negotiations for a new Manteltarifvertrag (Collective framework agreement, or MTV). Strikes this week follow earlier disruptions at German airports last week.

For 48 hours, between 00:01 am April 15 and 11:59 pm April 16, hundreds of flights departing from airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Bremen, Stuttgart, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Hannover will be disrupted by the cabin crew’s strike. The tageschau expects Frankfurt and Munich airports to be especially affected.

In a press release, UFO voices its disillusionment with Lufthansa management's apparent unwillingness to compromise on the terms of the new framework agreement. Rising numbers of strikes are set to increase pressure on the negotiations to overcome the current standstill in cooperation.

Strikewave hits German air traffic 

The cabin crew strike is part of a major strike wave organised by Lufthansa staff that has been impacting air traffic in Germany for weeks now. Just last month, a 24-hour strike disrupted service for approximately 100.000 Lufthansa customers and led to the cancellation of 800 connections in Germany, tagesschau reported.

Disruption will continue further this week. The Vereinigung Cockpit (Cockpit Association, or VC) has called on Lufthansa pilots to strike on Thursday and Friday, affecting all flights departing from Germany. Included in the strike are also the pilots of Lufthansa’s daughter companies Cargo and Cityline. According to tagesschau, the VC has proposed a new mediation strategy for the discussions over pension plans, which Lufthansa has agreed to. 

Travellers in Germany can expect additional complications due to the Eurowings strikes announced for Thursday.

100 years of Lufthansa 

At the beginning of the year, the Lufthansa Group turned 100. To commemorate Lufthansa’s history of innovation, the visitor centre “Hangar One” in Frankfurt is hosting an anniversary ceremony on April 15. 

With important government figures, such as Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), invited, UFO is planning a demonstration, including a march to the Lufthansa Aviation Centre in Frankfurt and declarations protesting the management team there. 

Joachim Vázquez Bürger, head of UFO, explains that the ceremony is the perfect opportunity to make workers' voices heard and to draw attention to those who enabled 100 years of Lufthansa in the first place. “Looking back at the history and values of Lufthansa also requires looking at the current handling of employees”, he says.

 VC has encouraged their pilots to join the protest as well.

Opposition to Lufthansa’s anniversary celebration is not limited to the workers' unions. The company has been facing criticism regarding its measures in dealing with Lufthansa's contributions to the Nazi regime, as summarised in a tagesschau article.