BERLIN, Feb 11, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Pilots for German airline Lufthansa will go on strike Thursday over a pensions dispute, their union said.

The call by the Vereinigung Cockpit union will affect flights under the Lufthansa brand as well as the Lufthansa Cargo freight division, a union spokeswoman told AFP on Tuesday.

The cabin crew union UFO said in a separate statement it has called on Lufthansa CityLine staff to strike during the same period.

"The industrial action affects all flights departing from German airports between 00:01 and 23:59 local time," the pilots' union said in a statement.

Andreas Pinheiro, president of the union, said the staff "would have very much liked to avoid an escalation".

After union members held a strike ballot in September, "we deliberately gave Lufthansa several months to come up with a solution," he said.

The pilots are calling for better retirement benefits, while Lufthansa argues that it needs to cut costs to manage its debt.

Lufthansa said in September that it would cut 4,000 jobs, nearly four percent of its workforce.

Hit by walkouts, aircraft delivery delays and rising costs, the airline's earnings tumbled by a fifth in 2024, the latest full year available, and profitability has fallen behind leading European rivals.

The UFO union said it was calling for a strike "in view of the publicly announced closure of Lufthansa CityLine's flight operations and the employer's continued refusal to negotiate a collective social plan".

Lufthansa announced one year ago that it would close Lufthansa CityLine, with operations and staff moved to a new subsidiary.