Germany: Flight cancellations top 1,100 as workers strike

More than 1,100 flights have been cancelled in Germany after public sector airport workers went on strike to demand higher pay. Airport officials confirmed Tuesday that nearly 700 flights had been cancelled at Frankfurt Airport. Four hundred flights were affected in Munich, and dozens more were cancelled in Cologne and Bremen. Lufthansa was forced on Tuesday to cancel 800 flights, or half its daily schedule. It said 90,000 passengers had been affected. Public sector workers including bus drivers and hospital staff have staged weeks of intermittent strikes across Germany, but airports had not been affected until Tuesday. Verdi, a union that represents 2.3m public sector workers in Germany, said that airport staff including security guards and firefighters were striking at the four airports. The union is calling for a 6% annual raise for its workers, and is using the strike to promote its cause ahead of negotiations on Sunday.<br/>