More than 100,000 passengers are scrambling for alternative transport prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, as pilots embark on a two-day strike.

Passengers utilising Lufthansa group's other airlines — Germanwings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Brussels Airlines — are not impacted by the strike. (TRT World and Agencies)

Tens of thousands of passengers are stranded after Germany's flagship airline, Lufthansa, cancelled 876 of its flights scheduled for Wednesday due to a two-day pilot strike.

With flights cancelled, passengers travelling abroad for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday are angry and frustrated at the inconvenience.

This is Lufthansa's 14th strike in two years, part of a long-running dispute over retirement packages and pay hikes.

What is the strike about?

Lufthansa pilots are demanding a pay raise of an average of 3.66 percent, applied as back pay over the last five years. The airline had offered a 2.5 percent wage hike.

The pilot's union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), says pilots have endured a wage freeze over that time and suffered a "significant loss of purchasing power" due to inflation, while Lufthansa has made billions in profits.

The union had at first called for a 24-hour work stoppage but said late Tuesday that the strike would continue into Thursday for both long and short-haul flights leaving Germany.

Meanwhile, a separate walkout by cabin crew at Lufthansa's low-cost airline Eurowings led to the cancellation of more than 60 flights at airports in Hamburg and Duesseldorf on Tuesday.

​How are passengers reacting?

@lufthansa not thankful for missing Thanksgiving with my family because of your strike #lufthansa @Lufthansa_USA @Lufthansa_DE — Charles Taira (@charlestaira) November 23, 2016

Thoroughly enjoyed leaving the house at 3.15 am to find my Lufthansa flight cancelled at Birmingham without notification. #topflying — owenfarr (@owenfarr) November 23, 2016

Some of them were lucky.

So as we were landing in Germany the pilot announces that there is a strike also on Lufthansa. Most flights are... Posted by Allison Soskil on Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Some expressed angry at the Lufthansa cancellations.

Don't ever book long distance flights with Lufthansa because chances are they'll strike AGAIN and you're never gonna arrive — Vanessa@Canada (@toshibooty) November 22, 2016

Lufthansa has been responding to social media queries but many people are not satisfied with the service.

Now stuck at Milan airport since @lufthansa has cancelled my flight. With no compensation or customer service. Way to ruin a day Lufthansa. — Chelsea Deborah (@ChelseaDeborah) October 23, 2016

What are alternative travelling arrangements for passengers?

Many passengers had to take a bus or train to get to their destination.

rebooked ? put on a bus to bologna and sent to frankfurt on a tight connection .she might lose a day bcoz of all of this — sameer uddin (@sameer_uddin) November 3, 2016

Other passengers tweeted that they preferred to fly by another airliner.

Thx Bob. Sadly, no can do. 2hrs+ already on hold. On stage until after you close 2night. @Finnair saves the day and gets me home. — Olafur Sigurdarson (@olisigurdarson) November 22, 2016

Despite the flight cancellations, the airline's share price increased by 1.5 percent from 12.73 to 12.90 Euros.

The strike has not hit Lufthansa's other airlines — Germanwings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Brussels Airlines.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies