Austrian Airlines cancels 40% scheduled flights amid labour action

Austrian Airlines on Thursday cancelled 40 per cent of its flights amid a dispute about wages for flight crews, the Lufthansa subsidiary announced in Vienna.

The Austrian carrier grounded 150 flights that had been booked for over 12,000 passengers.

Staff members conducted a meeting to protest management’s offer of a 2.1-per-cent wage increase, as well as a 1.4-per-cent one-off payment.

Austrian Airlines spokesman Peter Thier said that management was willing to improve its offer if staff showed some flexibility on work hours.

He pointed out that Austrian Airlines’s competitors in Vienna include budget carriers whose operating costs were between 30 and 50 per cent lower.