Germany: Lufthansa and the Significance of a Labor Strike

Germany's Lufthansa, Europe's second-largest airline, canceled flights for the second day on July 30 as a strike led by the Verdi union gained momentum on its third day. Among other airports, the strike hits one of Europe's biggest air travel hubs — Frankfurt — at the height of the continent's holiday season. With employees struggling under high commodity prices and the airline suffering from rising operational costs, the fear of an inflation-driven upward spiral of costs and wages has hit the airline sector.