UPDATE (Nov 23), 9pm: Lufthansa flight LH778 departing on Nov 23, which was delayed, is now cancelled, according to information from Lufthansa's website. This comes after pilots extended their strike for a second day. 

SINGAPORE/FRANKFURT — A Lufthansa flight scheduled to depart Frankfurt for Singapore on Wednesday night (Nov 23, Frankfurt time) has been pushed back to the next day after its pilots’ union called for a strike on all continental and intercontinental routes.


Flight LH778, which was due to depart Frankfurt at 9.55pm local time on Wednesday (4.55am, Nov 24, Singapore time), will now only depart the German city at 7am local time on Thursday, showed Lufthansa’s website.


876 Lufthansa flights will be cancelled on the day, with around 100,000 passengers expected to be affected.


“Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience caused by the (pilots) strike and will try to minimise the impact on its passengers,” the airline said in a statement. The strike, which will last from 12am - 11.59pm local time, comes after a long-running pay dispute, reported Reuters.


The strike is the 14th to hit the airline in its dispute with the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union. Flights by Lufthansa’s partner airlines including Germanwings, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Brussels Airlines, are not affected by the pilots’ strike, Lufthansa said.

Passengers are also advised to check the airline's website and social media sites for updates on their flights. 


Pay talks between Lufthansa and VC broke down this month, and the pilots have rejected calls by Lufthansa for the dispute to be taken to a mediator.


The union is calling for an average increase of 3.7 per cent in pay for 5,400 pilots over a five-year period dating back to 2012.


However, Lufthansa, which is trying to cut costs to cope with increased competition from low-cost carriers and leaner Gulf rivals, has offered a 2.5 per cent increase over the six years until 2019.


According to Reuters, Lufthansa later asked a court to issue a temporary injunction to avert the strike. A hearing has been scheduled for 3pm, Tuesday (12am, Wednesday, Singapore time). REUTERS with additional reporting by TODAY