Lufthansa cancels 35 flights on Sunday as pilots' strike enters fifth day

The pilot union demands an average annual pay increase of 3.7 per cent for 5,400 pilots in Germany over a five-year period backdated to 2012.

Lufthansa cancels 35 flights on Sunday as strike enters fifth day
Planes stand on the tarmac during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 23, 2016. Reuters

Lufthansa, the biggest airline of Germany, has cancelled 35 flights on Sunday due to a continued fall-out from a four-day pilot strike. Ever since the strike began on 23 November, it has grounded nearly 2,800 flights affecting more than 350,000 passengers.

"Almost all LH (Lufthansa) flights will operate according to schedule tomorrow. However, 35 flights cancelled due to the strikes on the preceding days," the company tweeted on Saturday.

An unsourced report Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung revealed that the airline had considered going insolvent to rid itself of the costly labour agreement with its pilots, which is the main reason of the conflict. But, the company spokesman has denied the report.

Lufthansa's pilot's union rejected the latest pay offer from the company on Friday but lifted the immediate threat of extending their strike beyond Saturday.

"We need a negotiable offer. Otherwise there can always be additional strikes," Joerg Handwerg, board member at pilots union VC, told Reuters TV on Saturday.

Lufthansa offered the pilots a increased wage by 4.4 percent in two instalments along with a one-off payment equal to 1.8 months' However, the union demands an average annual pay increase of 3.7 per cent for 5,400 pilots in Germany over a five-year period backdated to 2012.

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