On Thursday evening, the ground staff of Austrian Airlines started the announced strike. The airline’s planes remain on the ground for 36 hours. According to the AUA, approximately 50,000 passengers have been affected.
Due to a decision by the Vida union, the AUA is canceling a total of 400 flights on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Vienna airport is particularly affected, but also airports in the federal states such as Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz and Klagenfurt.
The AUA wants to help those affected
The AUA offers free cancellations and rebookings; passengers must be actively informed. Vienna Airport also offered the option of free parking cancellation; passengers who had already departed received the cost of the additional parking time back from the airport upon proof of the rebooking.
Union insists on better offer
The AUA estimates the damage caused so far in the course of the ongoing collective labor agreement negotiations as a result of flight cancellations at 24 million euros. The KV dispute has been dragging on for weeks; Seventeen rounds of negotiations have taken place so far without any results. The union has announced another company meeting on April 4.
Hundreds of flights have been canceled since negotiations began. The union is demanding a better offer from employers, but the company has so far remained tough. In concrete terms, AUA flight crew are demanding that salaries be brought in line with those of AUA’s parent company, Lufthansa.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
