Air traffic Staff vote in favor of strike at Lufthansa subsidiary Discover

The unions at the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover are set for a trial of strength. Ufo and Vereinigung Cockpit do not want to accept a collective agreement with Verdi. The crews are ready to strike.

The signs are pointing to strike action at Lufthansa vacation airline Discover. In separate ballots, the members of the Ufo and Vereinigung Cockpit unions have voted in favor of industrial action. A strike date was not announced on Wednesday.

The two unions for pilots and flight attendants are working closely together to make parallel, existing collective agreements between rival union Verdi and the company superfluous. Instead, they each want to enforce their own collective agreement.

"The Basic Law gives the employees of a company the right to decide for themselves who represents them. The members of Vereinigung Cockpit have decided by a clear majority that they will not accept the employers' side concluding collective agreements with a union they like over their heads," explains VC collective bargaining expert Marcel Gröls.

At Ufo, 91.8 percent of participants voted in favor of industrial action. Among the Discover pilots from VC, the figure was 81 percent, according to the union.

Strikes possible with immediate effect

Following approval by the affected members, indefinite strikes are now possible on Discover Airlines flights. The airline operates 27 aircraft from Munich and Frankfurt to vacation destinations in Europe and overseas. According to the company, the fleet is set to grow to 33 aircraft by mid-2027.

For tactical reasons, the unions are not giving details of the industrial action. The only thing that is currently clear is that pilots and flight attendants want to coordinate their actions. The unions also did not want to rule out solidarity strikes at the much larger Lufthansa.