A ballot by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union announced on 26 February shows 99 % of Lufthansa CityLine pilots ready to strike, with a 95 % turnout. Although no date has been set, the vote adds pressure on the Lufthansa Group only two weeks after a one-day walk-out by mainline pilots grounded 800 flights.
CityLine operates regional feeder services to Frankfurt and Munich hubs and is slated for closure in 2027 as routes migrate to the new City Airlines subsidiary. VC argues that management is leveraging the transition to weaken existing labour agreements; it demands annual pay rises of 3.3 % through 2026 and rejects an employer offer that would impose a strike moratorium until end-2027.
![Lufthansa CityLine Pilots Vote 99 % in Favour of Strike Action]()
Corporate travel managers fear cascading disruption if CityLine pilots coordinate with ground-staff or public-transport unions. Even a short strike could upend European connection banks, forcing re-bookings and overnight stays that inflate travel budgets. The ballot also signals wider unrest across the Lufthansa portfolio, where wage talks with cabin-crew union Ufo remain unresolved.
Meanwhile, travel administrators scrambling for contingency plans may also need to review visa validity for rerouted staff. VisaHQ’s Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) offers an easy checkpoint for entry requirements and rapid document processing, ensuring employees remain compliant even when last-minute itinerary changes push them through alternate Schengen gateways.
Companies with time-sensitive mobility programmes should map critical routings that rely on CityLine metal, pre-authorise rail alternatives and monitor VC strike notices, which require only 24 hours’ warning under German labour law.
CityLine operates regional feeder services to Frankfurt and Munich hubs and is slated for closure in 2027 as routes migrate to the new City Airlines subsidiary. VC argues that management is leveraging the transition to weaken existing labour agreements; it demands annual pay rises of 3.3 % through 2026 and rejects an employer offer that would impose a strike moratorium until end-2027.
Corporate travel managers fear cascading disruption if CityLine pilots coordinate with ground-staff or public-transport unions. Even a short strike could upend European connection banks, forcing re-bookings and overnight stays that inflate travel budgets. The ballot also signals wider unrest across the Lufthansa portfolio, where wage talks with cabin-crew union Ufo remain unresolved.
Meanwhile, travel administrators scrambling for contingency plans may also need to review visa validity for rerouted staff. VisaHQ’s Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) offers an easy checkpoint for entry requirements and rapid document processing, ensuring employees remain compliant even when last-minute itinerary changes push them through alternate Schengen gateways.
Companies with time-sensitive mobility programmes should map critical routings that rely on CityLine metal, pre-authorise rail alternatives and monitor VC strike notices, which require only 24 hours’ warning under German labour law.
