Germany’s largest carrier, Lufthansa, woke up to empty gates and departure boards filled with the word “cancelled” on Thursday, 12 February 2026. At 00:01 CET, pilots represented by Vereinigung Cockpit and flight attendants represented by UFO began a 24-hour walk-out after wage and pension talks collapsed again this week. The strike forced Lufthansa to scrub almost 800 services—roughly 80 % of its entire schedule for the day—including long-haul rotations to New York, Singapore and Johannesburg.
Frankfurt and Munich, the airline’s two main hubs, felt the brunt: airport operator Fraport reported 450 of 1,117 departures cancelled in Frankfurt, while Munich Airport lost 275 of 920 movements. Smaller bases in Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf reported “single-digit” operations only. The German airport association ADV estimated that at least 100,000 ticket-holders had to be re-routed or re-funded. Lufthansa said it would try to rebook passengers on Swiss, Austrian and Star Alliance partners, but warned that peak-season loads ahead of the Berlin Film Festival and the Munich Security Conference left “almost no spare seats”.
The pilots’ union demands a future-proof company pension scheme and automatic inflation adjustments; cabin crew want a new collective agreement covering duty rosters, maternity protection and the threatened closure of regional arm Lufthansa CityLine. Management calls the demands “financially unrealistic” in the wake of high fuel costs, new aircraft investments and continued repayment of state silent participations drawn during the pandemic.
![Lufthansa strike grounds nearly 800 flights and strands 100,000 passengers across Germany]()
For travellers suddenly forced to reroute through alternative hubs, visa requirements can become an unexpected complication. VisaHQ’s user-friendly portal—especially its Germany section at https://www.visahq.com/germany/—lets passengers check real-time entry rules and secure any additional visas at short notice, smoothing the path whether the new itinerary runs through Vienna, Zurich or beyond the Schengen Area.
Beyond the immediate passenger chaos, the strike sends ripples through Germany’s export-oriented economy. Dozens of cargo flights, including pharmaceuticals and automotive components on the critical Frankfurt-Chicago route, were grounded. Multinationals with time-sensitive shipments faced overnight trucking or courier alternatives—adding cost and forcing some production lines onto reduced shifts. Mobility managers were reminded that, in Germany’s tightly regulated labour market, industrial action can still paralyse world-class infrastructure with only 24 hours’ notice.
For global mobility teams the practical take-aways are clear: keep contingency hotel contracts in Frankfurt and Munich, enrol travellers in automated trip-change alerts, and build minimum 24-hour buffers into itineraries during the winter wage-bargaining season. Lufthansa and the unions resume talks on Monday; both sides hint that longer strikes remain “conceivable” if no compromise emerges. That means business travellers should brace for rolling disruption well into spring 2026.
Frankfurt and Munich, the airline’s two main hubs, felt the brunt: airport operator Fraport reported 450 of 1,117 departures cancelled in Frankfurt, while Munich Airport lost 275 of 920 movements. Smaller bases in Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf reported “single-digit” operations only. The German airport association ADV estimated that at least 100,000 ticket-holders had to be re-routed or re-funded. Lufthansa said it would try to rebook passengers on Swiss, Austrian and Star Alliance partners, but warned that peak-season loads ahead of the Berlin Film Festival and the Munich Security Conference left “almost no spare seats”.
The pilots’ union demands a future-proof company pension scheme and automatic inflation adjustments; cabin crew want a new collective agreement covering duty rosters, maternity protection and the threatened closure of regional arm Lufthansa CityLine. Management calls the demands “financially unrealistic” in the wake of high fuel costs, new aircraft investments and continued repayment of state silent participations drawn during the pandemic.
For travellers suddenly forced to reroute through alternative hubs, visa requirements can become an unexpected complication. VisaHQ’s user-friendly portal—especially its Germany section at https://www.visahq.com/germany/—lets passengers check real-time entry rules and secure any additional visas at short notice, smoothing the path whether the new itinerary runs through Vienna, Zurich or beyond the Schengen Area.
Beyond the immediate passenger chaos, the strike sends ripples through Germany’s export-oriented economy. Dozens of cargo flights, including pharmaceuticals and automotive components on the critical Frankfurt-Chicago route, were grounded. Multinationals with time-sensitive shipments faced overnight trucking or courier alternatives—adding cost and forcing some production lines onto reduced shifts. Mobility managers were reminded that, in Germany’s tightly regulated labour market, industrial action can still paralyse world-class infrastructure with only 24 hours’ notice.
For global mobility teams the practical take-aways are clear: keep contingency hotel contracts in Frankfurt and Munich, enrol travellers in automated trip-change alerts, and build minimum 24-hour buffers into itineraries during the winter wage-bargaining season. Lufthansa and the unions resume talks on Monday; both sides hint that longer strikes remain “conceivable” if no compromise emerges. That means business travellers should brace for rolling disruption well into spring 2026.
