Germanwings to Cancel Flights From Russia As Pilots Continue to Strike

Passengers, who booked their flights with Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings, won't be able to fly out of Russia on Friday due to an ongoing pilots' strike.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Three Germanwings flights will not take off in Russia on Friday after the Lufthansa subsidiary said Thursday on its website that an ongoing pilots' strike will continue late into Friday night.

The airline grounded two flights from Moscow to Berlin and Dusseldorf, and another Dusseldorf flight from St. Petersburg.

Before traveling, all passengers are advised to check online the current status of their flight. Germanwings offers an e-mail or text message service for their clients to update them on the flights schedule.

The Cockpit trade union called a two-day strike on Thursday to protest against planned changes in retirement rules and pensions schemes. It has already caused "considerable disruption and delays," the low-cost subsidiary of the German flag carrier said.

The trade union, which promotes interests of Germany-based pilots, demands that pilots who retire at the age of 55 continue receiving up to 60 percent of their pay until the normal pension begins at the age of 65.

Lufthansa has been trying to cut costs after it was forced into restructuring by increased competition from low-budget airlines.

This is not the first strike of Lufthansa pilots in the last few months. Last year, pilot strikes in September, October and November already grounded over 1,300 flights.