Germany's largest airline, Lufthansa was forced to cancel 800 flights Tuesday due to a public sector workers strike over pay that's expected to affect as many as 90,000 passengers.
According to Reuters, the airport walkouts involve security staff and workers who load and unload aircraft. Major airports, including Frankfurt and Munich, warned travelers to expect delays and disruption throughout the day.
A spokeswoman for Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport told Reuters that officials would likely have to close some security checkpoints, meaning travelers whose flights haven't been affected will need to leave themselves additional time to get through.
The strike at Frankfurt Airport was scheduled to run from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time Tuesday.
As of 3:45 p.m. local time (9:45 a.m. ET), flight-tracking website FlightAware.com reported 446 cancellations at Frankfurt Airport and 196 cancellations at Munich Airport.
Airports in Cologne and Bremen have also been affected by the worker shortage.
Lufthansa's head of human resources, Bettina Volkens expressed frustration over the strike. "Lufthansa is not even a party in this pay dispute, yet it is mainly us and our customers who are most affected," Volkens said in a statement.
The Verdi union representing public sector workers is seeking a six percent pay increase for workers with the next round of wage talks scheduled to begin Sunday.
Tuesday's disruption comes six months after a French air traffic control strike protesting President Emmanuel Macron's labor reform policies caused travel headaches across Europe. More recently, Americans have been affected by worker strikes at Washington Dulles International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
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