About 900 flights canceled amid Lufthansa pilot strike

Pilots in Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa have gone on strike, forcing the company to cancel about 900 flights.

Lufthansa officials said on Tuesday that out of roughly 3,000 planned short- and long-haul flights, 876 would definitively be canceled due to the strike, which is expected to begin later midnight and last for 24 hours.

Reports said tens of thousands of passengers could be stranded at airports across Germany on Wednesday due to the latest escalation of a long-simmering pay dispute between Lufthansa and the pilots. Vereinigung Cockpit, a union representing the pilots, had previously staged 13 walkouts since April 2014.

The pilots want a pay raise of an average 3.66 percent per year. They want the hike to retroactively affect their pay in the past five years as it is claimed that the wage freeze over that time cost the pilots "significant loss of purchasing power." Vereinigung says Lufthansa has made billions in profit in the abovementioned time due to souring inflation.

Lufthansa has offered a 2.5 percent wage hike, which has been rejected by the union of 5,400 pilots. The company denies it has made a profit out of the wage freeze, saying the main goal has been to reduce costs to cope with increased competition from low-cost carriers and other rivals.

EA