Low-Cost Carrier Expects To Accommodate More Than 80 Percent Of Its Passengers

A planned 24-hour walkout by pilots belonging to the VC pilots union against Germanwings will affect about 900 flights, the low-cost carrier said Wednesday, but it added that it anticipates 80 percent of its passengers will arrive at their destinations over the next two days.

The pilots planned to walk off the job for 24 hours beginning at 11 p.m. local time February 12th, according to Buying Business Travel online. The union has staged 10 strikes in the past year, resulting in significant losses for Lufthansa and inconveniencing thousands of passengers.

In a statement, VC said that it has failed to come to an agreement with Germanwings, and that Lufthansa is responsible for the disruptions. The strikes are the result of a long-running dispute between the carrier and the pilots over retirement.

Germanwings has posted a replacement flight schedule that includes more than 60 percent of all scheduled flights. It has leased aircraft from other carriers and is rebooking passengers on other airlines in an effort to mitigate problems.

Routes flown by Eurowings are not affected, according to the report.

FMI: www.oneworldpilots.org/vc.html