Chaos as Lufthansa pilots strike over pay

Pilots in Germany began a two-day strike yesterday, grounding some 1,800 flights at one of Europe’s largest airlines in a long-running pay dispute.

The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union initially called a 24-hour walkout for yesterday, but extended the strike for an extra day after two courts rejected attempts by Lufthansa to halt the industrial action.

Lufthansa, led by CEO Carsten Spohr, insists that despite a record profit in 2015, it has no choice but to cut costs to compete with leaner rivals such as Ryanair on short-haul and Emirates on long-haul flights.