The scene of an extended strike is looming at Lufthansa. The pilots of the first European air transport group have overwhelmingly approved the strike principle to support salary demands in the face of inflation, their union announced on Sunday. This is “a signal that cannot be ignored,” the Cockpit branch union said in a press release.

The threat of Lufthansa planes being grounded in the near future has thus grown, but the result of the consultation does not mean “yet automatically that we come to take action,” he added. He intends to immediately reopen negotiations with management, currently at an impasse, “with even more support” from his base.

On Wednesday, the Ver.di union launched a “warning strike” in Germany. But the strike only involved the ground employees of the German company.

An increase in wages and indexation to inflation

Lufthansa employs around 5,500 pilots in its passenger and freight transport activities. Cockpit is the only union that represents them. The consultation gave a majority of 97.6% in favor of the principle of the strike among passenger pilots, and 99.3% among cargo pilots. The attendance was approximately 95% of the members.

Pilots are asking, in the face of runaway inflation, for a 5.5% raise in their salaries this year, then automatic indexation to inflation. The union also asks for a guarantee on the volume of Lufthansa’s fleet, to secure jobs for pilots.

This conflict adds to another already ongoing between Lufthansa and ground staff, which participated in a 24-hour stoppage on July 27, which caused major traffic interruptions in Germany. His union, Verdi, is demanding wage increases of 9.5%. In both cases, management has so far refused to agree to wage demands.