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Lufthansa Pilots' Strike Wreaks Havoc With Flight Schedule

German airline Lufthansa is canceling 1,000 flights on Wednesday because of a pilot strike that began on Tuesday.
Image: Lufthansa aircraft on the tarmac
Lufthansa aircraft on the tarmacRALPH ORLOWSKI / Reuters file

BERLIN — German airline Lufthansa is canceling 1,000 flights on Wednesday because of a pilot strike.

Some 140,000 travelers will be affected by the grounding, the airline said Tuesday.

"Lufthansa deeply regrets the resulting inconvenience to its customers," it said.

Image: Lufthansa aircraft on the tarmac
Lufthansa aircraft on the tarmacRALPH ORLOWSKI / Reuters file

The pilots union, Vereinigung Cockpit, began its strike on long-haul flights Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of 90 flights. On Wednesday it is extending the strike to include medium- and short-haul flights.

The airline said its subsidiaries Germanwings, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines are not affected.

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Lufthansa's 5,400 pilots want the airline to keep paying a transition payment for those wanting to retire early, and are opposed to a restructuring of the airline.

Lufthansa says passengers should check its website for details of forthcoming flight cancelations.