AUA strike underway

Almost 50,000 passengers remain on the ground today

Austrian Airlines ground staff began their announced strike on Thursday night. This means that the airline's aircraft will remain on the ground for 36 hours. According to AUA, around 50,000 passengers will be affected.

AUA is canceling a total of 400 flights on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday due to a decision by the vida union. Vienna Airport in particular will be affected, but also provincial airports such as Innsbruck, Graz and Klagenfurt.

AUA wants to accommodate those affected
AUA is offering free cancelations and rebookings, and passengers should be actively informed. Vienna Airport also held out the prospect of free parking lot cancellations; passengers who had already departed were reimbursed the costs for the additional parking time by the airport after providing proof of the rebooking.

Trade union pushes for better offer
AUA estimates the damage caused by flight cancellations in the course of the current collective bargaining negotiations at 24 million euros. The collective bargaining dispute has been dragging on for weeks, with 17 rounds of negotiations having taken place so far without any results. The union has announced a further works meeting for April 4.

Hundreds of flights have been canceled since negotiations began. The union is demanding a better offer from the employers, but the company has so far remained firm. Specifically, AUA's cabin crew are demanding that their salaries be brought into line with those of AUA's parent company Lufthansa.