A two-day strike by pilots at Lufthansa began on Thursday morning (March 12th) and is set to last until the end of Friday (March 13th).
Flight cancellations are expected, especially at Germany's major air travel hubs, Munich and Frankfurt.
Union leader Andreas Pinheiro said he expected around 300 flight cancellations per day, while Lufthansa has said that roughly half of its planned flights on both days should still take-off. Strike action will not take place on flights to the Middle East.
Passengers affected by the strikes should be notified by e-mail, according to Lufthansa. This means that passengers who don't receive an email can expect that their flight is not affected for the time being.
But notices on the airport websites nonetheless advise passengers to check the current flight status with their airline before arriving at the airport.
Here's what travellers with flights to or from Germany should know about which flights are cancelled, and what your rights are as a passenger if you're affected.
Disruptions at Munich and Frankfurt
Just before the strike started, Bavarian news outlet BR24 reported that Lufthansa had already cancelled 230 connections from Munich Airport on Thursday and 180 connections on Friday.
A notice on the Munich Airport website advises customers to check the status of their flight at Lufthansa.com for the latest information. Passengers taking off from Munich can also search for their flight in the airport's flight schedule here.
A similar notice on the Frankfurt Airport website warns that Lufthansa flights there "will be delayed and cancelled all day on March 12th and 13th".
You can also check the airport's current schedule for known delays and cancellations here, or call the airport's information telephone line (01806-3724636), but note that calling this number incurs charges of €0.20 to €0.60 per call.
A glance at the Frankfurt flight schedule on Thursday morning reveals that many Lufthansa flights to other German airports (Leipzig, Dusseldorf, Nuremberg, etc) are cancelled, as are a number of flights to international cities around Europe and beyond.
In total, the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union estimates that around 300 flights will be cancelled each day during the walkout. That's fewer than during the previous strike in February, when roughly 800 flights were grounded and around 100,000 passengers were affected.
Lufthansa said it plans to use larger aircraft, have Lufthansa flights handled by group airlines that are not on strike and use volunteer crews to mitigate cancellations.
Disruptions in Berlin and other airports
Beyond Munich and Frankfurt, flights from other German airports are also cancelled including in Berlin.
Generally passengers can expect that if their flight was known to be affected, they should have received an email about the cancellation by Wednesday at noon. But it's never a bad idea to check your flight status for any last minute changes before heading to the airport.
Current cancellations at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport are all for connections to and from Munich and Frankfurt, according to a report by Berlin Morgenpost.
What happens if your flight is affected?
Lufthansa says it is rebooking affected passengers on alternative flights free of charge, and is informing passengers via mobile phone.
The company says that passengers who have not received a message should check the current status of their booking (here). From that portal you can also arrange to reschedule your flight if needed.
Lufthansa also notes that for certain routes, passengers have the option to cancel their flight ticket and instead convert it to a free ticket with Deutsche Bahn. This service is valid for flights within Germany as well as between Germany and: Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris, Basel, Geneva, Zurich, Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck, Linz, Graz, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw.
Again, affected passengers should have been notified of this option previously by email.
When flights are cancelled, it is also possible to request a voucher at any time.
According to EU law, passengers can claim a lump-sum compensation payment of between €250 and €600 when flights are cancelled at short notice or delayed by more than three hours at their destination. But these rights only apply if you have not already received compensation, including re-routing, from the airline.
READ ALSO: What are your rights in Germany if your flight is delayed or cancelled?
Compensation may also not be owed when the disruption is caused by "extraordinary circumstances" which may include workers strikes in certain cases.
When strikes occur in Germany, passengers are often booked onto another flight by the airline. If the alternative flight does not depart until the next day, customers may be entitled to a voucher for an overnight hotel stay.
For domestic flights that are disrupted, passengers may alternatively be rebooked on a connection with Deutsche Bahn, or receive a refund for their ticket.
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