German airline Lufthansa cancels flights from Birmingham Airport as pilots walk out over pay dispute

Lufthansa flights between Birmingham Airport and Frankfurt Airport have been cancelled today because of strike action by pilots in Germany.

Lufthansa say that any affected passengers will be contacted and booked onto another flight if possible.

They may also qualify for compensation, as consumer groups do not believe cancellations due to strikes by airline employees fall under the “extraordinary circumstances” exemption.

Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), a trade union representing Lufthansa’s pilots, announced the walkout on Thursday in a row over pay. It accused bosses of failing to improve on their previous proposal.

Matthias Baier, a spokesman for the union, said: “Aware of our responsibility for companies and guests, we wanted to leave no stone unturned and offered another negotiation date despite an inadequate offer and failed negotiations.

“We did not receive a sufficient offer today either. This is sobering and a missed opportunity.

"The negotiations have failed. The only thing left for us to do is to reinforce our demands with a labour dispute.”

The German airline said it has offered to raise pilots’ monthly base salaries by 900 euros (£777), and claimed the union’s demands “would increase payroll costs by more than 40%”.

“We cannot understand VC’s call for a strike," said the airline's labour director, Michael Niggemann.

“The management has made a very good and socially balanced offer - despite the continuing burdens of the Covid crisis and uncertain prospects for the global economy. This escalation comes at the expense of many thousands of customers.”