Lufthansa pilots are on strike on Friday: When are you entitled to compensation?
Created: 09/01/2022, 16:16
By: Franziska Kaindl
The next Lufthansa strike is imminent: 130,000 trips will be affected by flight cancellations.
An overview of your rights.
On Friday (September 2nd) there will be major restrictions in Lufthansa's flight program, as the airline warns.
The pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit has called on cockpit staff to go on a one-day strike.
800 flights are to be canceled at the Munich and Frankfurt hubs, and an estimated 130,000 travelers are affected.
According to Lufthansa, there could still be restrictions on Saturday and Sunday.
How to find out if you are affected by the strike
Lufthansa intends to adjust the flight schedule and publish the cancellations over the course of Thursday.
Passengers who have provided their contact details in the booking should be informed via SMS or email.
Customers are also asked to regularly check their flight status online.
If you have booked a package tour, the tour operator is the first point of contact.
Lufthansa travelers have to be prepared for massive restrictions on Friday (September 2nd).
© Manfred Segerer/Imago
Lufthansa strike: What rights do those affected have in this case?
“Due to the Lufthansa strike, many travelers from Germany will not be able to carry out their planned flight as planned.
This is particularly annoying at busy travel times such as the summer holidays.
However, in the event of delays of more than three hours or cancellations, affected passengers are entitled to compensation of up to 600 euros.
informs air passenger rights expert Julián Navas from AirHelp.
Because the pilots are employed by the airline and the strike can therefore be attributed to the airline's entrepreneurial risk and not "extraordinary circumstances", the legal situation here is clearer than, for example, a strike by security forces at the airports, as was the case in July was.
Affected passengers can assert their right to compensation retrospectively up to three years after their flight date.
What to do in case of strike?
Substitute transport or your money back
Once the flight has been cancelled, the most important thing for passengers at first glance is to get to their destination in a timely manner.
It is therefore important for them to know that if the flight is canceled or delayed by more than three hours, the airline must offer alternative transport - whether by rebooking on other flights or converting the ticket into a train ticket.
The option is often offered on domestic German flights.
Lufthansa informs on its website that due to the large number of cancellations, it may take longer before passengers can be offered an adequate rebooking solution.
Anyone who has not received a notification from Lufthansa within 18 hours of being notified of the cancellation should independently check the current status of the booking on the website.
And what if the airline doesn't care?
It is then advisable to set a deadline for her to obtain alternative transport.
Travel lawyers see a period of two to three hours after the planned departure time as appropriate.
"If the request is still not fulfilled, travelers can look for their own alternatives and charge the airline for the costs," says Navas.
You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance
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If the delay lasts longer than five hours or the alternative transport is scheduled for a later time, the airline is obliged to refund the full ticket price.
"In the event of delays of more than two hours and a flight distance of more than 1,500 kilometers, the operating airline must provide passengers with meals and drinks at the airport.
In addition, two phone calls or the sending of two e-mails must be possible.
If necessary, the airlines must also provide accommodation and facilitate transport there,” adds Navas.
But there is another option if the flight is cancelled: you ask for the money back.
In this case, however, you must arrange alternative transport yourself.
(dpa/fk)
