Lufthansa cabin crew have announced a fresh two-day strike affecting two of Germany’s busiest airports, Frankfurt and Munich.

Scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, the strike marks the latest in a series of labour actions impacting the German airline.

The announcement follows closely on the heels of Lufthansa’s disclosure of record profits for the fiscal year 2023. The union’s decision is expected to disrupt the travel plans of approximately 100,000 passengers.

The strike is set to encompass all departures from Frankfurt airport on Tuesday and all flights departing from Munich on Wednesday, spanning from 04:00 to 23:00 local time each day.

Both Lufthansa and its short-distance, low-cost subsidiary, Cityline, will be affected. However, it remains uncertain whether Lufthansa’s code share partners will also experience disruptions.

The Independent Flight Attendants Organization (UFO) is advocating for a 15% wage increase and a €3,000 ($3,280; £2,550) inflation compensation payment for its 18,000 members at Lufthansa and 1,000 members at Cityline.

The union reports that over 96% of its members have voted in favor of the strike.

Despite Lufthansa’s announcement of doubled profits in 2023 to €1.67 billion ($1.82 billion; £1.42 billion), Joachim Vazquez Buerger, UFO board chairman, contends that cabin crews should share in the company’s success.

Expressing regret over the strike, Buerger has urged passengers to excuse any inconvenience caused.

However, the union’s negotiator suggested on Saturday that Lufthansa’s failure to reach an agreement with staff implies a desire by management to exacerbate the situation to the detriment of passengers.

Prior to this cabin crew strike, approximately 200,000 passengers were impacted by delays and cancellations resulting from a strike by Lufthansa ground staff in Germany on Thursday and Friday.

Led by the Ver.di union, the strike involved 25,000 ground staff members seeking a 12.5% pay increase or a minimum monthly raise of €500, along with an inflation compensation bonus.

Lufthansa asserts that it proposed a pay increase of at least 10%, but Ver.di contends that the offer falls short, especially considering the meagre wages of ground staff despite the airline’s robust profitability.

The recent strikes at Lufthansa have been prompted by labour disputes concerning wages and compensation packages.

While the airline has reported significant profits, the unions argue that employees deserve a larger share of the company’s success.

The disruptions have already impacted a substantial number of passengers, highlighting the ongoing tensions between management and labour within the aviation industry.

Image: Door TJDarmstadt – https://www.flickr.com/photos/152414129@N08/50549910783/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97286012

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