Third day of German airline strike grounds 830 flights

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

Germany’s leading airline Lufthansa cancelled nearly 830 flights scheduled for Friday as pilots continued a strike for a third consecutive day.

Lufthansa said the industrial action would affect all flights within Germany and Europe, and ground 830 short- and medium-haul flights.

Since Wednesday, the strikes has led to the cancellation of 2,618 flights, affecting more than 315,000 passengers.

The company said it would offer customers whose flights have been cancelled a one-time option to transfer or cancel their booking free of charge.

Meanwhile, pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit announced late on Thursday it had decided to extend its strike to Saturday on all long-haul flights from Germany.

The union accused management of showing no willingness to make compromise.

Lufthansa pilots have staged more than a dozen strikes since April 2014, due to a long-running labor dispute.

Vereinigung Cockpit, which represents 5,400 pilots at Lufthansa, is demanding a 3.7 percent annual pay rise for its members.