Customers from Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn AG will need to have strong nerves again this week, because the airline's cabin crew have been called on strike and the train drivers at the railway company are supposed to stop work again. The industrial action is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 12th and Wednesday, March 13th, 2024.

In the past, Lufthansa has made it possible for domestic German tickets to be converted into DB tickets during strikes. This will not be possible, as was the case last week, because many trains at Deutsche Bahn will again be idle. The GDL is also calling on its members to stop work. This means that public transport in Germany has once again been largely paralyzed.

The UFO union is calling on its members who fly at Lufthansa and the regional subsidiary Cityline to go on a two-day strike. In a press release it is claimed that the management of the two aviation companies would not respond to the demands of the employee representatives. The GDL argues similarly when it comes to train drivers, although there is increasing criticism from the highest political levels. For example, Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) publicly demands that the train drivers' union should take part in arbitration and at the same time negotiate compromises instead of using a strike to support the maximum demand.

Last week, the Verdi union called on Lufthansa's ground staff to stop work. Strikes by security personnel have also been organized in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn and Hamburg. This meant that, for example, no local passengers could be checked at Germany's largest airport or in Hamburg. Customer airlines were also affected by the industrial action by Lufthansa ground staff because their ground handling was not available.

According to the current state of affairs, the flight attendant strike will only affect flights that are to be operated by Lufthansa and its subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline. The sister company Air Dolomiti, which flies from Frankfurt and Munich both under wet lease and under its own flight number, is not affected by the strike call. These flights should be carried out regularly. The same also applies to its sister companies Discover Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and Eurowings Europe.

Passengers whose flights are to be operated by Lufthansa or Lufthansa Cityline should regularly check the current status of their booking. Travelers have the legal right to alternative transport, even with other airlines and outside the Star Alliance, contrary to the false claims made by Lufthansa customer service. The Air Passenger Rights Regulation stipulates that every conceivable connection that leads to reaching the destination as quickly as possible is possible. The European Court of Justice has confirmed in various cases that airlines must expressly rebook to other airlines. Substitute transport with another mode of transport would also be permitted, but on Tuesday and Wednesday only the long-distance bus would most likely be an option, as Deutsche Bahn is also on strike.

Railway passengers should remember that the offers from private providers such as Westbahn and Flixtrain are not affected by the work stoppages. If you absolutely have to travel on the two days, it is to be expected that tickets for long-distance buses could quickly sell out at high prices, especially on domestic German routes. Furthermore, passenger rights in rail transport are much laxer than those in aviation, so you should consider postponing any rail trips planned for Tuesday and/or Wednesday.