by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Tue April 26, 2016
Photo courtesy of Lufthansa
On Wednesday, Lufthansa employees are expected to join strikes at airports across Germany, forcing the cancellations of almost 900 flights as the service workers' union goes to battle against the government over pay raises.
According to The Local, six German airports are scheduled to be impacted by the strike from the service workers' union Verdi, including Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Cologne-Bonn, Dortmund and Hanover facilities.
The largest airline in Europe, Lufthansa, has announced that 895 flights have been canceled due to the strike, which equates to 60 percent of the airlines usual service. The company also announced that an estimated 87,000 passengers will be impacted by the work stoppage.
Two of Lufthansa's main hubs, Munich Airport and Frankfurt Airport, have announced that the airline has canceled 545 and 350 flights at the facilities, respectively. For travelers arriving or departing from Germany, the Lufthansa website will have flight updates for customers.
The employees walking off the job in the strike include mechanics, air traffic controllers, ground crew and administrators, but it will be the airport firefighters and emergency personnel who will bring airports to a standstill, as facilities can't operate without them.
READ MORE: What Are Passengers' Rights in the Event of an Airline Strike?
The strikes are set to bring international and domestic service to a crawl, as the impacted airports will be operating at a much lower capacity, if at all. Lufthansa officials have told customers that they will be able to rebook their ticket at no extra cost or use Deutsche Bahn trains to reach their destinations.
The strike is currently scheduled to last until Wednesday at 3 p.m. local time.
Verdi is battling the government on behalf of workers in the public sector who believe they deserve a pay raise of 6 percent. In addition to airport employees going on strike, Germany has also seen walkouts at kindergartens, hospitals, town halls and local transportation hubs.
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