Lufthansa and Pilots Plan Mediation to Resolve Contract Disputes

Ticket counters at Munich airport were almost empty during a recent pilot strike

Lufthansa German Airlines and the union that represents the airline’s pilots said Friday that the two plan mediation to resolve ongoing pay disputes.

The move averts the thread of additional strikes by the pilots over the holiday season and into the New Year. Over the past two months, the airline has been partially shut down by multiple pilot strikes and the pilots have walked off the job 14 times since 2014.

“Yesterday, the negotiating parties agreed to finalize the arbitration by the end of January and to maintain industrial peace regarding the collective wage agreement until then,” the company said in a statement.

The contract and wage disputes between the airline and Vereinigung Cockpit, the union representing the pilots, go back to 2012.

The mediation process is slated to commence in early January and be completed within the month.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)