Lufthansa's budget carrier Germanwings has warned that 70 per cent of its flights scheduled to operate tomorrow morning will be cancelled if a planned pilots' strike goes ahead.
The strike, which has been called by the Vereinigung Cockpit union, is protesting plans to change the current scheme in which pilots retire at 55 and retain some of their pay until they reach the state pension age.
Should it proceed, the industrial action will start at 0600 local time and finish at midday. Advanced talks to prevent the strike are due to be held this evening.
The Lufthansa group employs over 9,000 pilots, of whom 700 work at Germanwings.
The low-cost carrier estimates that some 15,000 passengers will be affected by tomorrow's strike. It said that 116 out of its 164 flights scheduled to operate between 0600 and 1200 will have to be cancelled.
Germanwings has set-up a replacement flight schedule for tomorrow morning. For the latest information, click here.
The budget airline has a fleet of 52 aircraft and operates short-haul flights out of Lufthansa's Frankfurt and Munich hubs.
In April, a three-day pilots' strike saw Lufthansa cancel 3,800 flights (see news, April 1).
Graham Smith
