Strike at Lufthansa subsidiary Discover to end on Sunday evening

The strike at the Lufthansa Group's holiday subsidiary Discover Airlines was due to end on Sunday evening after six days, according to the German pilots union Cockpit.

The union is satisfied with the results, a spokesman said after last week's joint decision with the UFO flight attendants union to stage a four-day walkout by pilots and cabin crew operating out of Frankfurt and Munich.

"What we see is that many flights have been returned to the parent company Lufthansa. This is causing operational problems, and that is what we want to achieve," the spokesman told dpa.

The strike, which began on Tuesday, was originally due to end on Friday. On Thursday, the union prolonged the action into the weekend as a demonstration of resolve in the current wage dispute.

According to Lufthansa, the strike had only a minor impact on operations on Sunday, the sixth day of the walkout.

"Overall, the cancellations are at the low level of the past five strike days," a spokeswoman for the airline group said.

Five of 20 short-haul flights from Frankfurt had to be cancelled and another flight was to be taken over by a partner airline. Twenty long-haul flights from Frankfurt and Munich could take place without any changes, Lufthansa said.

The conflict stems from talks with Germany's large services union Verdi, which has secured the first collective agreements for pilots and flight attendants of the relatively new airline Discover.

Cockpit and UFO work closely together to bypass existing pay agreements struck between Lufthansa and Verdi, which they see as a competitor union.

The unions argue that Verdi lacks sufficient membership within the airline's operations and was established as a bargaining partner by Lufthansa management.

Founded in 2021, Discover Airlines currently has 27 aircraft that fly to holiday destinations in Europe and overseas. It has a staff complement of almost 2,000, including 500 pilots and 1,400 cabin crew, with the remainder in administration. The exact number of unionized employees is unknown.