Since midnight, the flight attendants of Lufthansa subsidiary are on strike. The Union, UFO, is threatening to the workers ' struggle soon to expand.

On the ground: a Germanwings machine at the Cologne airport photo: Reuters

BERLIN/COLOGNE, Reuters | For the Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings, the flight attendants are on strike since midnight. The walkout, called by the trade Union UFO, is to last until the new year to 24.00 o'clock. The larger sister company Eurowings in behalf of Germanwings flies, has announced a special flight schedule.

Overall, will be on the three strike days, probably 180 flights, said a Lufthansa spokeswoman on Monday. 15 percent of flights with Eurowings be affected by the strike. Of 1,200 flights operated by the subsidiary, more than 1,000 were to be held. UFO spokesman Nicoley Baublies told Reuters TV at the airport Cologne-Bonn, the effects of the strike were "so big". However, UFO has already announced that the strike at the end of the year to other Lufthansa subsidiaries to extend, should move out of the group.

Baublies underscore at the same time, the workforce was very closed. "Only 35 flights were cancelled, then 54, now 170. That is, the Germanwings is today managed just 7 percent of your original flight.“ This shall be a sign for Lufthansa as a group. Of the walkout between the holidays, less business people, but tourists affected. Therefore, it was given such a long notice period, so that the passengers could switch to rail or other eurowings-operated flights.

Euro wings flight of a jump to lines of the Lufthansa group. Among other things, Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa fly away for Euro wings, said Eurowings spokesman Matthias Eberle to Reuters TV. "Every strike, and every delay is too much, and in this respect, we regret that it has come to this." Between the years of the "emotionally is something else".

A strike around the holidays is give the customer extremely difficult. Eberle expressed disappointment that "on the backs of the customers and of our staff is a collective conflict, you must resolve at the collective bargaining table and not outside on labour disputes".

In the deadlocked wage dispute for the 22,000 cabin staff is, among other things, allowances and working conditions. UFO and Lufthansa have delivered, but also a fierce dispute over the bargaining power of the trade Union. Lufthansa-Chef Carsten Spohr was willing, ultimately, to a conciliation Board. For the Union, is the former SPD leader and former Prime Minister of Brandenburg, Matthias Platzeck, Simple. For Lufthansa, the role Frank has taken over-Jürgen Weise, the former head of the Federal Agency for work.

In the case of previous UFO-strikes more than a thousand flights were, about 200,000 passengers were affected. In the recent wage dispute, the Arbitrators, after a UFO had been looking for-information, until recently, to find a solution, but without result.