Eurowings strike grounds nearly 200 flights in Germany

BERLIN

Pilots at Eurowings went on a strike on Thursday, forcing the German budget airline to cancel nearly 200 flights, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

The strike action began at 00.01 a.m. local time (22.01GMT) and is set to continue until 23.59 p.m. (2159GMT), according to a statement by the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit.

The budget airline, a subsidiary of Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa, said it is doing everything it can to minimize the impact of the strike. The company asked passengers to check the current status of their flight online before travelling to the airport.

Domestic flights have been hit hardest by the pilots' strike, while the carrier said flights operated by Eurowings Europe and Eurowings Discover will not be affected by the strike call.

In the early hours of Thursday, 118 flights from Dusseldorf Airport and 61 flights from Cologne Bonn Airport were canceled.

The pilots’ union decided to take strike action after ten rounds of negotiations on a collective wage agreement failed to make any headway.