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Hundreds of Lufthansa flights cancelled

Tuesday, 4 September 20123 min read

Around 200 Lufthansa flights have been cancelled today as the airline struggles with last minute strike action.

The German cabin crew union, UFO, announced strikes over pay today at Frankfurt from 4am to 12pm (GMT) and at Berlin-Tegal from 5am to 1pm.

Reuters reports that cabin crew at Munich are also being called to strike from 11am to 8pm.

Lufthansa said the short notice from unions meant passengers were struggling to find alternative flights as the airline cancelled the majority of its flights, including services between Frankfurt and London.

A statement on its website said: "The fact that UFO announces strike actions only at short notice creates additional problems for passengers because it will further limit their ability to make reliable travel plans.

"The call to strike action forces Lufthansa to cancel a majority of flights. Unscheduled cancellations and delays of Lufthansa flights must be anticipated.

"Even after the end of the strike, Lufthansa foresees irregularities in flight operations."

Lufthansa was forced to cancel long-haul flights on Friday and Saturday, saying it had little possibility to prepare for the industrial action.

The union is demanding a 5% pay rise and a guarantee that Lufthansa will not outsource jobs and use more casual staff. Lufthansa said it was not planning to improve its offer of a 3.5% rise in exchange for longer working hours.