The Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings gave notice to 281 pilots on Thursday. The approach has been sharply criticized by the Vereinigung Cockpit trade union, because the company is separating from the group's own pilots and at the same time is increasingly relying on ACMI service providers at Eurowings.
VC explains that talks have been held with Lufthansa for a long time due to the cessation of Germanwings flight operations. The group's management is accused of "obviously accepting the uncertainty about their professional and possibly also personal future for negotiation tactical reasons" with the pronounced dismissals. It is also pointed out that other flight operations in the Lufthansa Group have too few pilots and the aircraft therefore have to remain on the ground. "Due to this deliberate mismanagement within the group, a lot of turnover is left behind, which is urgently needed for the financial recovery of the entire company," says VC.
The pilots' union is upset that the mainline had to cut its June program due to a pilot shortage. "That's why planes stay on the ground and the company can't make any money from them." Eurowings Discover had to rent an Airbus A350-900 from Finnair because "there too there is a lack of staff and aircraft". Furthermore: "At Eurowings, aircraft from Air Baltic, Avion Express Malta and Tuifly were used in April alone, as this Lufthansa airline also lacks aircraft and personnel".
"Against the background of a lack of cockpit staff at group airlines and an increasing number of wet leases, dismissing several hundred experienced and highly qualified pilots is completely unsound," says Arne von Schneidemesser, Vice President of the Cockpit Association. "Despite this incomprehensible procedure, which continues to unsettle our colleagues, we are of course still striving for a constructive solution in the interests of those affected".
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