Hundreds of flights cancelled due to Lufthansa ground crew strike

The ground crew of Deutsche Lufthansa AG went on strike early Monday over working conditions, causing the cancellation of almost all of the airline's flights, a trade union official said.

"The terminal is almost empty, because most passengers were prepared" and made other arrangements, said Gerold Schaub of the trade union Verdi, speaking from Frankfurt airport, DPA reports.

It is the second wave of strikes over wages and working conditions for about 33,000 technicians and service workers. The first action by Verdi resulted in 700 flight cancellations on March 21.

Verdi representatives have demanded job guarantees and a 5.2-per-cent raise. Lufthansa has countered with a modified offer that would take job classification and performance into account.

It would provide raises of more than 3 per cent for certain job groups over 29 months, but Verdi has responded that some categories of worker would end up earning less in real terms.