Lufthansa pilots set to strike again as ongoing pay row costs airline €10m a day

Pilots at German airline Lufthansa have announced they will go on strike on Tuesday (29 November) and Wednesday, after talks over the weekend failed to produce a solution over the ongoing saga surrounding pay.

In a statement, the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit said the walkout will affect both short and long haul flights on Wednesday, while only the former will be affected on the first day of the strike.

"Unfortunately, high-level talks held today at short notice failed to lead to an agreement on the wage contract," said union board member said Joerg Handwerg.

"It is completely incomprehensible that [Lufthansa] has refused to put forward an offer that can at least form the basis of a negotiation."

The decision marks the 15th time pilots at Germany's largest airline have gone on strike and comes less than a week after Lufthansa was forced to cancel almost 2,800 flights following a four-day walkout that affected over 350,000 passengers.

The union, which boasts 5,400 members, wants an average annual pay rise of 3.7% backdating to 2012. Last week, it rejected the carrier's offer of a 2.4% increase in wages this year, followed by a further 2% rise in 2017 and a one-off payment of 1.8 months' pay.

The airline, which claimed the strike is costing it approximately €10m (£8.5m) a day, had previously offered a 2.5% pay hike until 2019.