Fresh Lufthansa pilots’ strike begins today

A leading German pilots’ union has called a fresh walkout at Lufthansa starting Monday in an ongoing dispute with the airline over retirement benefits.
The strike will target short- and medium-haul flights across Germany from midday (1100 GMT) Monday until just before midnight (2300 GMT) Tuesday, the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union said in a statement.
It said long-haul flights across the country and Lufthansa’s cargo services would also be affected Tuesday from 0200 GMT until just before midnight GMT.
Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary Germanwings will not be part of the strike, it added.
The union said it was down to the management of Lufthansa, Europe’s biggest airline, that “despite all efforts for compromise proposals” by the pilots in several rounds of negotiations since October, the dispute could not be resolved.