Thousands of passengers were left stranded at German airports on Tuesday as more than 60,000 ground staff and other public sector workers staged walkouts across the country to increase the pressure in a pay dispute.
Lufthansa had said that it was cancelling more than 800 of its planned 1,600 flights on Tuesday and Frankfurt airport operator Fraport had warned of disruption.
As well as Frankfurt, Germany's busiest hub for airlines, airports in Munich, Cologne and Bremen were hit. The industrial action also affected nurseries, rubbish collection services and swimming pools in several German states.
German union Verdi wants a 6 percent pay rise for its 2.3 million public sector employees at the federal and local level. Germany's federal government and municipalities have rejected that, saying such a rise would force them to outsource jobs.
The union said more than 60,000 workers in eight German states took part in the strikes, and further walkouts were planned across the country in coming days.
REUTERS
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