Lufthansa wins court ruling to halt pilot strike in pay dispute

[FRANKFURT] Deutsche Lufthansa AG won a legal victory in a long-running labor dispute with its pilots, when a German court upheld its effort to halt strikes that led to more than 1,000 flights being canceled this week.

An appeals court in Frankfurt issued an injunction that requires the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots' union to halt a strike. The order reverses an initial ruling that that walkout isn't a disproportionate protest. An appeal of the decision isn't allowed, the court said.

The stoppage was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting Lufthansa to scrap services as early as Monday. Earlier, it listed 56 canceled arrivals or departures for Thursday because crews or aircraft aren't in their assigned locations.

The conflict stems from a decision by Cologne-based Lufthansa, Europe's second-biggest network carrier, to create a low-cost unit that would expand to become the region's third- largest discount airline.

Lufthansa, which has its biggest hub in Frankfurt, contends that the strategy is an entrepreneurial decision over which the union has no say. Vereinigung Cockpit argues that the reorganization affects its collective bargaining contracts.

BLOOMBERG