Flights between Lisbon, Oporto, Faro and several German destinations have been cancelled today due to the continuing pilots’ strike which began on Tuesday.
The first day of strike action caused the cancellation of 84 long-haul flights.
The Lufthansa pilots decided to extend their industrial action to middle and short distance routes affecting those to Portugal.
This plan will force the cancellation of nearly a thousand flights if nothing is done about their grievances.
However, representatives of the German union had said that today's strike affecting short and medium haul flights does not rule out the possibility of a series of weekly strikes under the current labour dispute.
Lufthansa management has been operating an emergency plan and has sent about 140,000 passengers on other airlines or other Lufthansa flights.
Other associated airlines flying to Portugal including Germanwings, SWISS air, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, all Lufthansa hub affiliates, should not be affected by the strike.
The strike is the 13th in 18 months and is due to end on Wednesday 9th September at midnight.
The dispute is over company plans to change the early retirement rules for 5,400 pilots, as well as changes to the airlines corporate structure. The union fears systematic ‘relocation’ of jobs and has the full support of its pilots in mounting strike action.
