Lufthansa pilots begin 48-hour strike over pension dispute

Pilots at Lufthansa launched a 48-hour strike early Thursday, grounding hundreds of flights as their labor dispute over pension benefits intensifies.

The walkout affects flights departing from Germany on Lufthansa's mainline carrier and its cargo division, with the airline's Frankfurt and Munich hubs experiencing the most severe disruptions.

At Munich's airport, Lufthansa canceled 230 of roughly 800 scheduled flights on Thursday, with an additional 180 cancellations expected on Friday. Frankfurt saw similar disruptions, with approximately 300 flights grounded.

The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots union is demanding enhanced retirement benefits for pilots at Lufthansa's main airline and cargo operations, as well as pay increases for crews at regional subsidiary Cityline.

Union officials exempted flights to Middle East crisis regions from the strike, including services to Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.