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German cabin crew strike leaves many flights grounded

LUFTHANSA chief executive Carsten Spohr remained intransigent yesterday even as strike action by cabin crews forced the grounding of 930 flights — with a further 933 due to be cancelled today.

The German airline failed in a bid to ban the walkout by members of the UFO union when the Labour Court in Darmstadt ruled that the industrial action was perfectly legal.

The union is involved in a long-running dispute with the company over plans to slash early retirement benefits and pensions.

UFO chairman Nicoley Baublies said members would strike on all short, medium and long-haul flights until Friday, but he emphasised that the union was available for talks at any time.

“Striking is not an end in itself,” he said.

But Mr Spohr said the company would “sit it out” and that previous attempts to avoid confrontation had been futile. “We put it off too long,” he said.

Lufthansa says the union must agree to a no-strike policy before negotiations open, a condition UFO rejects.

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