Strikes disrupt dozens of Lufthansa flights: spokeswoman

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

FRANKFURT (AFP) — Strikes disrupted operations Tuesday at the leading German airline Lufthansa, a spokeswoman said, as workers walked off the job to press for higher pay raises.

A total of 28 flights had been cancelled at 8:00 am (0600 GMT), the spokeswoman told AFP, on domestic and European routes, while some delays also affected long-distance flights, she added.

Lufthansa's hub in Frankfurt was hit the hardest by the strikes, but Munich and Stuttgart in the south and Cologne in the west were affected as well.

The German trade union Verdi called on staff to stop work starting at 4:00 am (0200 GMT) to press for a 9.8 percent pay raise for the airline's 60,000 workers.

Lufthansa has offered a 3.4 percent raise, and talks were to resume on Thursday.

© 2008 AFP