Lufthansa pilots in Germany said they would extend strike action that began today until Friday, ratcheting up pressure on management in a long-running pay dispute and promising further disruptions for travellers.
The walkout has already grounded 1,800 flights at one of Europe's largest airlines, including eight between Dublin Airport and Frankfurt and Munich.
Eight more scheduled for Thursday between Dublin Airport and Germany have also been cancelled.
The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots' union had planned a 24-hour walkout today but late on Tuesday said it would be extended to Thursday after two courts rejected attempts by Lufthansa to halt the industrial action.
This evening, the union said the walkouts would continue on Friday too, but only on short-haul flights.
"Lufthansa management has shown no sign that it is willing to move and has not provided an offer that could serve as a basis for negotiations," VC board member Joerg Handwerg said.
Lufthansa, led by CEO Carsten Spohr, insists that despite a record profit in 2015, it has no choice but to cut costs to compete with leaner rivals such as Ryanair on short-haul routes and Emirates on long-haul flights.
Shares in the company have lost 12% of their value this year, but were steady today.
Lufthansa cancelled 876 of roughly 3,000 flights scheduled by its group airlines for today, and scrapped 912 flights for Thursday, in what is the 14th strike in the dispute since early 2014.
Lufthansa's CEO has said he expects the strike to cost between €7-9m a day.
The strike started at midnight and affects flights departing from German airports, including 133 long-haul flights.
Flights by Lufthansa's other airlines, including Germanwings, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Brussels Airlines, are not affected.
