Lufthansa has terminated the services of 103 India-based flight attendants after they allegedly sought “job assurance” from the management while the German airlines group had offered them leave without pay option for two years, sources close to the developments said.

These employees had been working on a fixed-term contract with the airline and some of them were with the carrier for more than 15 years, the sources added.

In a statement to PTI, a Lufthansa spokesperson said that severe financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic leaves it with no choice but to restructure the airline and as part of that “it will not be extending the fixed-term employment contracts of its Delhi-based flight attendants”.

The sources, however, alleged that Lufthansa terminated the services of 103 Delhi-based flight attendants on fixed-term contracts overnight, without serving any prior notice to them, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

“These terminations happened overnight without giving any prior notice. Some of these terminated people had been employed for nearly 15 years,” according to the sources.