German airline Lufthansa has cancelled almost half of its long-haul flights, as pilots strike for the second time in a week over retirement benefits.
Strikes will take place between 02:00 GMT and 22:59 GMT on Thursday and will affect long-haul and cargo flights.
The pilots’ union, Vereinigung Cockpit, announced plans for further strikes on Tuesday, which Lufthansa said was “completely incomprehensible”.
This is the 10th strike for the airline since April.
The airline’s pilots oppose plans to phase out an early-retirement scheme.
Currently, pilots are able to retire at the age of 55 and receive up to 60% of their pay until the standard retirement age of 65.
Almost 50% of long-haul flights from Frankfurt and Munich airports will remain grounded.
Lufthansa Cargo will operate nine out of 15 flights.
Lufthansa said the flights that went ahead would be staffed by volunteer pilots.
