Flights halted as pilots of Eurowings went on strike in Germany

Germany, Europe: The pilots for the airline of Germany “Eurowings” went on strike on Thursday, prompting the cancellation of scores of flights.

It is the latest strike to impact a German airline, with pilots calling for better pay in light of increasing inflation as well as more rest between flights.

Along with this, the strike will last all of Thursday, ending shortly before midnight. Eurowings, which is a subsidiary of German carrier Lufthansa, expects to cancel half of its flights because of the industrial action.

By Thursday morning, more than 150 flights had been cancelled at the airports in the cities of Germany, Düsseldorf as well as Cologne.

The airline operates at least 500 flights daily, so more cancellations are likely throughout the day. An estimated the strike could impact about 30,000 passengers.

The primary focus of the German airline, Eurowings, is on short-haul destinations in Europe and Germany.

In addition, the pilots’ union Cockpit called for the strike after the 10th round of negotiations on a collective labour agreement at the airline fell apart.

Pilots are calling for a pay raise in light of the rising cost of living.

Moreover, they have also called for more rest time between flights for pilots and a decrease in the maximum working hours.

The industrial action comes on the heels of a fraught summer travel season at German airports. The lack of staff, sickness as well as strikes prompted Lufthansa, as well as other airlines, to cancel several of flights over the summer.

The lack of staffing also sparked long lines at airports, with frustrated travellers told to arrive up to 3 hours before their departure time in order to ensure they make it to the gate.

However, Lufthansa reached a pay deal with ground staff in the month of August after a strike forced the airline to cancel more than 1,000 flights.