VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - A wage dispute is leading to numerous flight cancellations at Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines (AUA) at the beginning of Easter. Due to a 36-hour strike threatened by the Vida union for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the Austrian airline is canceling around 400 flights on these two days. As AUA announced on Tuesday, around 50,000 passengers will be affected. "All passengers will be rebooked to the next available flight," it said. The airline also offered free cancelations and refunds. Specifically, flights between March 28, 0 a.m. and March 29, 12 p.m. were affected.

The fronts between AUA management and the union have hardened. According to the company, it had offered a salary increase of up to 18 percent for flight attendants and pilots in the wage negotiations. According to the union, the current offer only covers inflation. In principle, the employees see a need to catch up in terms of aligning AUA salaries with those of the rest of the Lufthansa Group./mrd/DP/ngu