Nearly 2,000 Lufthansa flights cancelled because of strike

Lufthansa released the list of cancelled flights Saturday evening. By 9:00 p.m. (1900 GMT), more than 1,740 flights scheduled for Monday were called off.

"Nearly all Lufthansa flights within Germany and Europe will be cancelled," said Lufthansa in a statement, adding that only 20 of the 1,650 planned short-haul flights on Monday would operate.

Massive cancellations and delays for long-haul flights were expected to begin on Sunday, and the disorder would continue next Tuesday, Xinhua reports.

According to the airline, its operation in the airports of Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Norderstedt, Nuremberg, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Stuttgart and Hanover would be affected by the strike action. Customers were urged to check their flights status before their journeys.

The ver.di union had called for a full-day strike next Monday, seeking to put more pressure on Lufthansa before their next round of collective bargaining for 33,000 Lufthansa employees scheduled late this month.

In their last round of negotiation this week, Lufthansa rejected the union's demand of a wage increase of 5.2 percent for the next 12 months and job guarantees.

"With this refusal, and its scandalous offer, the employer provoke a renewed warning strike," said Christine Behle, a board member of ver.di.

The strike, however, was condemned by Lufthansa as "excessive" and "inflicting massive damage".