Zee Media Bureau
A leading German pilots' union has called a strike at Deutsche Lufthansa for Monday and Tuesday after talks broke down over retirement benefits, leading to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights.
The strike will target short- and medium-haul flights across Germany from midday Monday until just before midnight Tuesday when long-haul services will also be affected, the Vereinigung Cockpit union said in a statement.
The dispute, over proposed changes to an early retirement scheme for pilots that was developed decades ago, has resulted in repeated strikes this year, affecting thousands of passengers at Germany's largest airline.
According to a list on the Lufthansa website, more than 1,000 flights have been canceled, mostly on Monday and Tuesday, but a few also on Wednesday and Thursday.
Lufthansa, which last month lowered its profit guidance for 2015 for the second time this year, is expanding low-cost operations to better compete with budget carriers and Gulf rivals and to outflank the pilots' union.
With agency inputs
