Update, 4:10pm PST: Lufthansa has released a full schedule of cancellations for flights from tomorrow, September 6, to Saturday, September 8th due to strikes initiated by the flight attendant’s union. At this point, numerous flights to and from North America have been cancelled for tomorrow. If you are scheduled to fly with Lufthansa in the next three days, check the status of your flight by visiting the Lufthansa website.
If you are flying to or from Europe in the next few days, check your tickets: German carrier Lufthansa has been forced to cancel hundreds of domestic, inter-Europe and a handful of international flights in the wake of job action brought on by the Independent Flight Attendants Organization (UFO).
Yesterday’s strike was called to operate at Munich Airport (MUC) between 1pm local time and midnight. Previous strikes have ended at Berlin’s Tegel Airport and Frankfurt International Airport, though operations in these hub cities are still affected.
The UFO has announced that further strike action will take place on Friday, September 7, 2012, affecting nationwide flights into and out of Germany aboard Lufthansa.
So what can you do if your flights are cancelled? Head on over to the Lufthansa website, where the airline is maintaining a full list of cancelled flights. Numerous cancellations are already listed for Friday, September 7th, and while many international flights are operating that day, travellers leaving North America on Thursday, September 6th should be aware that when they arrive in Germany on Friday the 7th, it is likely their connecting flight may be cancelled.
You can also check the status of your flight by logging into “My Bookings” with your airline reference code, or by following the company’s Twitter Account.
Passengers on affected flights can call Lufthansa at 0800 50 60 70 from within Germany; 1-800-645-3880 from the United States; or on 1-800-563-5954 from within Canada.
As of this writing, only mainline Lufthansa flights are affected. Flights operated by codeshare partners Lufthansa Regional (Air Dolomiti, Augsburg Airways, CityLine and Eurowings)and Germanwings remain unaffected.
Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss Airlines flights also remain unaffected.
If your inter-Germany flight is cancelled, you can use one of Lufthansa’s interactive kiosks at any airport to exchange your ticket for a Deutsche Bahn rail ticket. You can also do this online under “My Booking”, and even have the boarding pass emailed or SMS’d to your cellular telephone.
If you are scheduled to travel to, from, or via Germany in the next few days, be sure to check your ticket carefully: Lufthansa is a member of the Star Alliance airline network, and your flights may be code-shared with Lufthansa. In Canada, Air Canada regularly codeshares with Lufthansa, as do United Airlines and US Airways in the United States.
If you are on a codeshare flight, you may see something like this:
“United 8854 – Chicago to Munich – Operated by Lufthansa”
This means that although the flight was booked through United Airlines, it is operated by Lufthansa onboard Lufthansa airplanes and could be subject to cancellation, as was the case yesterday.
We have travelled extensively with Lufthansa in the past, and are scheduled to do so in just a few weeks’ time. I’ve always found the airline to be punctual and efficient, with modern aircraft and excellent amenities. The flight crews are some of the friendliest in the skies, and it is my hope that the two sides can come to an agreement quickly.
Until then, be sure to pay close attention to your booking and flight status if you are bound for Europe in the next few days and weeks.
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