Dozens of Lufthansa flights cancelled as pilots strike work

Berlin, Sep 5 (IANS/EFE) Dozens of Lufthansa flights faced cancellation Friday affecting around 25,000 passengers as pilots working for the German airline struck work over a retirement row, the airline said.

The cancelled flights were scheduled between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. GMT from Frankfurt and Lufthansa would rebook affected passengers on other airlines and also provide train tickets on domestic routes, an airline spokesman said.

In a statement, the Vereinigung pilots' union said Lufthansa-operated flights of Airbus A320, Boeing B737 and Embraer aircraft would be affected.

The strike was called to back the pilots' demand that the airline reinstate allowing pilots to choose early retirement at the age of 60, following a similar strike last week by the pilots of Germanwings, Lufthansa's budget subsidiary,

The pilots' union said it was prepared to continue negotiations on the issue to reach an agreement so that future walkouts could be avoided.

"We regret any inconvenience to Lufthansa customers," the union statement said.

The current retirement system allows pilots to stop working at the age of 55 and receive 60 percent of their basic salary.

--IANS/EFE

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