The Independent Flight Attendants’ Organisation (UFO) has announced a 24-hour warning strike at regional carrier Lufthansa CityLine for 12 February, escalating a dispute over severance terms as the subsidiary prepares to wind down operations. According to industry portal Luftfahrtmagazin, the strike will affect the airline’s entire network, including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, potentially grounding dozens of feeder flights that connect to Lufthansa’s intercontinental services.
CityLine staff face redundancy after Lufthansa disclosed plans to phase out regional jet services in favour of wet-leased capacity from partner airlines. UFO insists that management agree to a legally binding social plan covering severance pay, job transfers and re-training budgets. Thus far, the carrier has offered only informal redeployment options within the wider Lufthansa Group—terms the union calls “grossly inadequate”.
CityLine operates around 250 daily sectors under the LH code. While the aircraft are small, the flights are strategically important for onward connections, especially for executives based in second-tier German cities. The strike therefore risks knock-on delays for long-haul passengers even if the mainline Lufthansa walk-out were averted.
![UFO Calls 24-Hour Warning Strike at Lufthansa CityLine, Demands Social Plan]()
If your organisation suddenly needs to switch itineraries—say, re-routing staff via Zurich or Vienna because a CityLine flight has been cancelled—VisaHQ can quickly confirm whether additional visas or transit permissions are required, and can even process the paperwork online for you. Their Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) consolidates Schengen rules, country-specific entry requirements and up-to-date embassy lead times, helping mobility managers avoid costly missteps during strike-induced schedule changes.
Global-mobility teams should alert travellers holding CityLine-operated tickets (flight numbers LH — with 2-digit suffixes in the 4000 range) and arrange alternative routings or same-day rail travel to major hubs. Employers should also verify visa-valid travel segments if re-routing through Schengen partners, as missed connections could lead to over-stays on airport airside passes.
More broadly, the dispute underscores how structural changes in European regional aviation—outsourcing, wet-lease models and fleet downsizing—can pose unexpected risks for corporate relocation programmes that rely on high-frequency domestic links.
CityLine staff face redundancy after Lufthansa disclosed plans to phase out regional jet services in favour of wet-leased capacity from partner airlines. UFO insists that management agree to a legally binding social plan covering severance pay, job transfers and re-training budgets. Thus far, the carrier has offered only informal redeployment options within the wider Lufthansa Group—terms the union calls “grossly inadequate”.
CityLine operates around 250 daily sectors under the LH code. While the aircraft are small, the flights are strategically important for onward connections, especially for executives based in second-tier German cities. The strike therefore risks knock-on delays for long-haul passengers even if the mainline Lufthansa walk-out were averted.
If your organisation suddenly needs to switch itineraries—say, re-routing staff via Zurich or Vienna because a CityLine flight has been cancelled—VisaHQ can quickly confirm whether additional visas or transit permissions are required, and can even process the paperwork online for you. Their Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) consolidates Schengen rules, country-specific entry requirements and up-to-date embassy lead times, helping mobility managers avoid costly missteps during strike-induced schedule changes.
Global-mobility teams should alert travellers holding CityLine-operated tickets (flight numbers LH — with 2-digit suffixes in the 4000 range) and arrange alternative routings or same-day rail travel to major hubs. Employers should also verify visa-valid travel segments if re-routing through Schengen partners, as missed connections could lead to over-stays on airport airside passes.
More broadly, the dispute underscores how structural changes in European regional aviation—outsourcing, wet-lease models and fleet downsizing—can pose unexpected risks for corporate relocation programmes that rely on high-frequency domestic links.
