German court orders Lufthansa pilots to halt strike

At least 140,000 passengers were grounded and 1,000 flights were cancelled Wednesday

FRANKFURT: A German court of appeal ordered pilots at the Lufthansa airline to halt their strike on Wednesday, ruling it was illegal, overturning a judgement from a lower court the day before.

The regional court of labour in Frankfurt granted an appeal by Lufthansa against the two-day strike, arguing that the industrial action was in protest at the management's restructuring strategy, which was an entrepreneurial matter.

Read: Lufthansa pilots strike for second day, 1,000 flights cancelled

On Tuesday, the labour court in Frankfurt had turned down management's application.

It is the first time in the long-running 18-month dispute between management and unions that such an injunction has been granted.

Lufthansa said 140,000 passengers were grounded and 1,000 flights were cancelled Wednesday on the second day of the pilots' two-day strike.

The pilots want Lufthansa to halt the expansion of Eurowings, which has an Austria operating licence, while negotiations continue.

Management and the unions have been locked in a bitter dispute since April 2014 over plans to change the pilots' early retirement arrangements.

“If there’s no new offer from Lufthansa we will call for a further strike,” VC spokesperson Markus Wahl told Reuters at Frankfurt airport. He said strikes could occur at any time, though the union would give 24 hours’ notice.