Flights to and from Germany will be grounded for two days as Lufthansa's ground staff is set to stage a walkout across the country’s biggest airports on Tuesday.
Union Verdi — the second largest German trade union — called on ground staff at Lufthansa to stage the industrial action.
It is aimed at disrupting passenger flights and will affect seven airports, including in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin.
The action will run from 4:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) on February 20 until 7:10 a.m. on February 21, the union said in a statement.
Lufthansa, the largest airline in Europe, said in a statement that more than 100,000 passengers are expected to be impacted by the walkout.
“Due to the strike, we currently assume that only around 10 to 20 per cent of the Lufthansa airline flight program can be operated, particularly on 20 February.”
The German airline said it was drawing up an alternative flight plan.
Union Verdi is seeking a pay raise of 12.5 percent, or at least $539 more a month, in negotiations for about 25,000 employees, including check-in, aircraft handling, maintenance, and freight staff.
It said a round of talks on February 12 produced no agreement. The next round of negotiations will take place on Wednesday.
Germany has been hit by a spate of strikes across various sectors since the start of 2024 as workers are demanding higher wages to cope with the cost of living in Europe’s largest economy.