Today, 150 flights are canceled at Austrian Airlines (AUA). They were canceled due to a company meeting of flying personnel that was originally announced but then postponed. The passengers were rebooked wherever possible, an AUA spokeswoman said on Friday. The works meeting will take place next Thursday, which threatens further cancellations. Meanwhile, AUA parent Lufthansa is still on strike in Germany until tomorrow.
Next Thursday there are theoretically 304 flights in the AUA program, which would mean transporting 31,000 passengers. In any case, failures are to be expected again. It is not yet possible to estimate exactly how many flights will be canceled and how much will be compensated for by redeployments and rebookings and is currently being evaluated. “We are doing everything we can to inform our passengers as early as possible and to hold as many flights as possible,” said the spokeswoman.
Damage of four million euros
In any case, today’s flight cancellations would have affected 12,800 passengers and caused damage to the AUA amounting to four million euros. The AUA considers the planned works meeting to be illegal and is taking legal action against it.
The background to the works meeting is the stalled collective agreement negotiations with the AUA on-board staff. The ideas for a salary increase differ massively between employers and employees. Employers offer a plus of 4.5 percent and promise more if the term is longer. The union, on the other hand, is demanding 30 percent more salary and more vacation.
Strikes in Germany
At the German AUA parent Lufthansa, the ground staff’s warning strike, which has been ongoing since Thursday, will continue until tomorrow. The Verdi union has called on Lufthansa employees at Hamburg’s Helmut Schmidt Airport to take industrial action by Saturday morning.
The effects for Austria have so far been very manageable. According to Vienna Airport, planned flights to and from Germany are currently taking place as planned, said the AUA spokeswoman.
