Lufthansa strike begins today: flights to and from Hungary hit, with transfer connections also at risk

A two-day Lufthansa strike by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union is set to disrupt flights on Thursday 12 March and Friday 13 March 2026, with the biggest knock-on effects expected at Lufthansa’s main hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. Lufthansa says it has published a special timetable and expects to operate more than half of its planned programme during the strike, but travellers should still brace for cancellations, delays, missed connections and baggage disruption.

The walkout comes after a short-notice strike announcement amid an ongoing dispute focused on pensions and related employment conditions for pilots.

Lufthansa strike: What is happening and when?

According to Lufthansa’s official travel information page, the union has called industrial action for 12–13 March, prompting the airline to introduce an emergency schedule and advise passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport. Lufthansa also indicates it expects operations to largely return to normal from Saturday 14 March 2026.

Reports and airline statements indicate the strike affects Lufthansa’s “classic” passenger operation and Lufthansa Cargo, with additional impact on Lufthansa CityLine (a regional operator that feeds passengers into the Frankfurt and Munich networks).

According to Anadolu, at Munich’s airport, Lufthansa canceled 230 of roughly 800 scheduled flights on Thursday, with an additional 180 cancellations expected on Friday. Frankfurt saw similar disruptions, with approximately 300 flights grounded.

Why Lufthansa strike matters for passengers flying from Hungary

For Hungarian travellers, the biggest issue is not only point-to-point flights but the way Lufthansa’s network works. A large share of passengers departing from Budapest Airport use Lufthansa primarily to connect via Frankfurt or Munich to onward long-haul and European destinations. When the hubs become congested, even flights that operate can still lead to missed connections and significant arrival delays.

In practice, that means the disruption risk is highest for:

• travellers flying Budapest–Frankfurt or Budapest–Munich directly, and
• anyone with a same-day connection via those airports (for example, to North America, Asia or Western Europe).

Because Lufthansa is concentrating on keeping a reduced programme running, some flights may operate while others are cancelled, making it essential to check the status of each leg of an itinerary. Lufthansa itself says it can operate more than 50% of its planned programme during the strike days, with a higher share on long-haul connections, but that still implies widespread change.