Half of Lufthansa's Tuesday Flights Canceled Due to Strike

More than 800 Lufthansa flights scheduled for Tuesday have already been canceled, as a public sector union strike escalated to airports in Germany on Monday.

Verdi, a trade union that represents workers in several industries, said Monday that a strike over pay increases would be extended to airport workers in Munich (MUC), Frankfurt (FRA), Cologne (CGN) and Bremen (BRE). The workers include the airports' security and ground staff and some fire staffers, too.

Lufthansa is Germany's largest airline, and it has hubs in both Frankfurt and Munich. The carrier also operates regional flights out of Cologne. Most of the canceled flights are short-hauls, Lufthansa told Reuters, but 58 long-haul flights have also been canceled. Lufthansa warned about delays at security checkpoints and is also offering to rebook passengers free of charge.

The cancellations total about half of the carrier's scheduled flights. Verdi's demands for the strike include a 6% pay increase for its 2.3 million employees in public sector jobs throughout Germany.