Lufthansa pilot strike affects Tbilisi flights

Germany’s national airline Lufthansa has cancelled 1,350 flights including two Tbilisi flights after a pilot strike, leaving thousands of travelers stranded.

Today is the second day pilots have walked away from their jobs, causing the grounding of long-haul and cargo flights in addition to domestic and European routes.

The strike has affected flights from Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. Today’s Tbilisi-Munich flight was cancelled and tomorrow’s Tbilisi-Munich flight will also be cancelled, airline officials said.

Affected flights include both short and medium-haul flights from 12:00 (11:00 GMT) until 23:00. Lufthansa's long-haul and cargo flights will also be grounded today as a result of the strike.

The two-day strike, the ninth this year in a drawn-out dispute over an early retirement scheme, has forced Germany's flagship airline to cancel almost half of all scheduled flights yesterday and today. About 150,000 passengers are affected.

The company has offered stranded travelers to change the tickets for other carriers.

Meanwhile scheduled flights from Tbilisi will recommence on Thursday, December 4.

Lufthansa pilots went on strike after ongoing talks between the carrier and pilots collapsed over retirement benefits. The airline wanted to phase out its early retirement scheme but this was strongly opposed by the pilots. (Agenda.ge)