12,800 sufferers

AUA cancels another 150 flights on Friday

(Bild: APA/Robert Jäger)

The works council of Austrian Airlines (AUA) has surprisingly canceled the works meeting scheduled for Friday or postponed it to an unknown date. However, as AUA has already canceled 150 flights, the affected 12,800 passengers are the ones to suffer. Whether the withdrawal of the works council has anything to do with the action for injunctive relief brought by AUA remains to be seen.

The affected connections have already been removed from the system and the passengers have been informed. AUA is not affected by the strikes announced by ground staff at the parent company Lufthansa in Germany on Thursday. Flights are reportedly taking place as planned.

Works council cancels works meeting on Friday
It is not entirely clear why the works council has suddenly canceled or postponed the next information event planned for Friday. According to the union, there are no rooms available at Vienna Airport. Insiders believe that this could have something to do with the action for injunctive relief brought by AUA.

The airline emphasizes that the passengers are now the ones to suffer. "The works council and the vida union should not cause any more damage, but find joint solutions at the negotiating table," the airline says.

Dispute over salary increases
The reason for the turbulence is the faltering wage negotiations. At issue is the collective agreement (KV) for pilots and flight attendants. After a good economic year for the aviation industry and a substantial increase in ticket prices, the union is demanding that employees also benefit in the form of appropriate salary increases.

Spontaneous warning strike last week
Last Friday, almost 140 flights were canceled due to works meetings and a spontaneous warning strike. The vida union announced on Tuesday that further collective bargaining talks had been scheduled before the now canceled meeting.

Action for injunctionagainst the works meeting
For AUA, the planned works meeting did not meet the legal requirements even beforehand. For this reason, an action for injunctive relief was filed. This is now invalid.