Flights cancelled as Lufthansa crew strike

Cabin staff at German airline Lufthansa were staging fresh strikes at three main airports on Tuesday, causing major disruption with the cancellation of scores of flights. The UFO union, which held a first strike at Frankfurt airport over pay and conditions on Friday, said it has decided to stage fresh walkouts at Frankurt as well as Berlin airport and Munich on Tuesday. The strike began at 0300 GMT at Berlin-Tegel airport, one of two serving the German capital, and an hour later at Frankfurt airport, the third busiest in Europe, with the stoppages due to last eight hours. Cabin crew will also go on strike from 1100 GMT to 2200 GMT in Munich, the union said. A Lufthansa spokesman said a total of 180 long and short-haul flights had already been cancelled at Frankfurt airport, and many flights had also been cancelled in Berlin. The union has vowed that Tuesday's strike would have an even bigger impact than Friday's action. A Lufthansa spokesman had said the airline would do everything possible to minimise disruption to travellers, with passengers informed about developments by email or text message. The strike was called after Lufthansa's management failed to come to an agreement with employees over salary and working conditions. UFO, which represents two-thirds of Lufthansa's 18,000-strong cabin crew, is seeking a five percent pay increase for cabin staff backdated to January after three years of wage freezes. It is also opposed to the use of temporary cabin staff on Lufthansa aircraft. Lufthansa official Peter Gerber said the airline had offered a salary hike of about 3.5 percent.