Four-day strike at Discover Airlines jeopardises Namibia flights

From today until Friday, Discover Airlines flights to Namibia may be cancelled. This is because the flying personnel have been called out by trade unions to strike all Discover departures from German airports.

The aim of the strikes is to enforce their own collective labour agreements for cockpit and cabin crew. This was stated by the 'Vereinigung Cockpit' (VC) pilots' union and the 'Ufo' flight attendants' union.

Previously, Discover had surprisingly concluded a collective labour agreement with the trade union Verdi (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft). However, VC and Ufo criticised the agreement as inadequate and see it as an attempt to weaken them as smaller trade unions.

Discover Airlines described the four-day strike during the peak travel season as irresponsible. Above all, the unions were concerned about their influence. Passengers were the ones who suffer. According to the press release, a total of 270 flights, including outbound and inbound, are scheduled from today to Friday.

Check flight status regularly online

Yesterday, Discover was unable to answer Namibian.org's question as to whether and which flights to Namibia will be cancelled or delayed. They emphasised that they were working at full speed to operate as many flights as possible.

This morning it was announced that the two flights scheduled for this evening will take place as planned. This applies to both the flight from Frankfurt to Windhoek and the almost simultaneous flight in the opposite direction.

However, the airline is asking all guests departing between today and Friday to check their flight status regularly on the Lufthansa Group website. If you have not already done so, you should also enter your contact details in your booking so that you can be informed directly.

It is currently peak travel season in Germany due to the summer holidays. It has also been high season in Namibia since July. The planes are accordingly well booked.

Windhoek is one of the most successful long-haul destinations for Discover Airlines. The holiday airline offers ten non-stop flights per week from Frankfurt to Windhoek.

Ethiopean Airlines also flies from Europe to Namibia, albeit with a stopover in Addis Ababa. Another alternative are connections via Johannesburg.

Sven-Eric Stender