Lufthansa ground staff strike - Passenger rights
Lufthansa ground staff on strike - What are passengers entitled to?
Lufthansa strike - these are your rights
Hundreds of German Lufthansa flights are being canceled these days due to a warning strike by ground staff.
Flights to and from Austria are also affected. The apf provides information about the applicable passenger rights in such cases.
Due to the short-term nature of the measures, this represents a major burden for affected travelers. However, the EU Passenger Rights Regulation provides a very clear framework for this scenario.
If a planned flight for which a ticket has already been purchased is canceled at short notice due to a strike, passengers have the right to a refund:
- a refund of the ticket price including taxes and fees
OR - the return flight to the point of departure at the earliest possible time
OR - alternative transportation to the destination under comparable conditions at no additional cost to the passenger (at the earliest possible date or, at the passenger's request, at a later date)
In such cases, passengers are also entitled to compensation payments, which depend on the route booked and can amount to up to EUR 600 per person.
- for flights up to 1,500 km: 250 euros
- for flights within the EU of 1,500 km or more: 400 euros
- for flights from 1,500 km to 3,500 km (not within the EU): 400 euros
- For flights over 3500 km (not within the EU): 600 euros
However, all of this applies exclusively to strike action by the carrier itself - which is therefore likely to apply in the case of the Lufthansa strike.
In addition, travelers must receive care services from a two-hour departure delay or waiting time for alternative transportation. This includes at least meals and drinks, but also hotel and transfer costs in the event of longer delays.
The guidelines issued by the European Commission further discuss that an air carrier must reimburse the cost of re-routing if it does not comply with the obligation to offer re-routing under comparable travel conditions.
Before incurring expenses on your own, apf recommends that you first contact the Lufthansa Service Center and obtain a rebooking for alternative transportation. If this is not possible, passengers should keep the invoices for the expenses they have incurred in order to ultimately claim them from the airline.
If you are affected by the Lufthansa[nbsp] strike due to a cancellation or flight delay, you will find a sample letter on our homepage with which you can claim your rights from the airline: https://www.apf.gv.at/de/musterbriefe-entschaedigung-fluglinie.html
If you do not receive a satisfactory response from the airline within six weeks, apf will help you assert your rights free of charge and commission. Simply fill out the online form atarbitration request and our experts will deal with your request.