Flight crew at Lufthansa's LCC subsidiary Germanwings started a six-hour strike on Friday, after talks with Lufthansa management collapsed over their dispute concerning pension schemes.
Germanwings stated it was cancelling 116 flights as a result of the strike, affecting up to 15,000 passengers. The strike was due to take place between 0400 and 1000 GMT.
"The strike will have a considerable impact on flight operations to and from Germany and on domestic German connections," the airline announced ahead of the action.
The dispute centres around flight crew union Vereinigung Cockpit wanting Lufthansa to maintain an early retirement scheme that allows pilots to retire at 55, and still receive 60% of their pay until state pension payments commence.
Vereinigung Cockpit stated that Lufthansa should preserve the scheme for new employees starting at the company. Lufthansa argued that the scheme is no longer necessary given rising life expectancy and a recent regulatory change permitting flight crew to work until age 65.
The dispute over early retirement is not new, as Lufthansa Group has previously fought its 5,400 pilots over early retirement packages.