Germany's largest airline Lufthansa warned that more than half of its scheduled flights on Tuesday will be canceled, as airport staff prepares to go on strike as part of a nationwide public sector walkout.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Lufthansa said it "must cancel more than 800 of its planned 1,600 flights tomorrow, including 58 long-distance services, because of the strike." Some 90,000 passengers would be affected, it added.

Read more: Lufthansa profits soar after Air Berlin demise

Service at airports is set to return to normal on Wednesday, Lufthansa said.

The mass strikes will hit Germany's major airports, including Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne-Bonn and Bremen.

Frankfurt Airport — Germany's largest — warned of "significant delays and cancellations" affecting multiple airlines. Airport staff urged travelers to check with their airline ahead of departure as to whether their flights would go ahead.

Lufthansa said customers could change their flights dates free of charge or, if traveling to domestic destinations, exchange their flights for train tickets.

Frankfurt Airport's bizarre customs finds Illegal dagger Illegal contraband is seized virtually every day at Frankfurt Airport - even if it is not always clear whether those sending or carrying it knew that it was illegal. This dagger violates Germany's weapons control laws.

Frankfurt Airport's bizarre customs finds Fake sneakers Forging labels of high-street brands remains one of the most common crimes uncovered by customs officers, who presented this fake Reebok sneaker at a press conference this week

Frankfurt Airport's bizarre customs finds Illegal nail clippers Sometimes customs officers have to have a sharp eyes. Last year, they noticed that these nail clippers weren't really from the town of Solingen - another example of fraud.

Frankfurt Airport's bizarre customs finds Real ivory Ivory is a much-smuggled material - and buying and selling it can be a violation of the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Frankfurt Airport's bizarre customs finds Electronic pulse lighter The current on this electronic pulse cigarette lighter was found to be too high - another violation of the law that officers pulled up. It was taken out of circulation.

Frankfurt Airport's bizarre customs finds Not real Lego This Chinese imitation Lego was seized - an obvious and illegal copy of the original.

Frankfurt Airport's bizarre customs finds Ammunition in the mail Smuggled weapons sometimes fall into the hands of German customs officials too. Author: Ben Knight



'Allow good workers to share in good economic performance'

Germany's major union Ver.di said the public sector walkouts aim to "increase pressure" on employers and "allow public sector workers a share in good economic performance" in Germany, where rising tax income has seen the pace of growth continue to pick up in Europe's largest economy.

As well as airports, the strikes will also cripple local transport, kindergartens, trash collections and hospitals in several major states, including Berlin, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. While airport services are set to resume as normal on Wednesday, other public sectors will remain affected by the strikes until Friday.

Workers' representatives are demanding a 6-percent pay raise or an increase of at least €200 ($245) per month for the 2.3 million public sector workers, which include airport security personnel and fire brigade officers.

Union groups have been buoyed by the successes of metalworkers union IG Metall, which in February wrung a 4.3 percent pay increase and a more generous right to temporarily go part-time.

Read more: German metalworkers finally secure wage agreement

Lufthansa personnel chief Bettina Volkens, however, slammed the pay dispute as "unacceptable," noting that the airline was not itself involved in the pay dispute, but rather airport staff and their employers.

The upcoming strike is set to run until April 13 across a range of public services, after which workers' representatives and public sector employers are set to hold a final round of negotiations slated for April 15-16.

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Airline logos: Colorful, stark and striking KLM Royal Dutch Airlines In contrast to its Australian counterpart, the logo of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is more factual. The abstract symbol of a crown in combination with the three letters KLM leaves no doubt as to which country this plane comes from. And that's what logos are all about.

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Airline logos: Colorful, stark and striking Alaska Airlines The Seattle-based airline has proved its creativity on several occasions during its 90-year-long history. The company was among the first airlines to sell tickets online and to offer online and automatic check-ins. Like its name, the logo of the airline refers to Alaska and its indigenous inhabitants, the Inuit.

Airline logos: Colorful, stark and striking Iran Air A trade embargo and political tensions between 1980 and 2016 made it hard for Iran's state airline with headquarters at Tehran's Mehrabad airport to modernize its planes. But maybe the "homa," the mythological bird used in the logo, came to the rescue of the airline. According to Persian mythology, "homa" is believed to bring luck and joy while living its life entirely in the sky.

Airline logos: Colorful, stark and striking Air Tanzania Over the years Tanzania's national airline has also had to face numerous challenges. Sometimes its fleet was in the air, sometimes not, and the airline's owners also frequently changed. It's certainly not the fault of the giraffe logo. The world's tallest animal looks so friendly and inviting on the plane;what passenger could say no to stepping onboard for a trip to Mount Kilimanjaro?

Airline logos: Colorful, stark and striking Takeoff into the future A crane has served as the logo of Germany's largest airline since 1918. Some types of cranes cover enormous distances when they migrate, but others are considered pests due to their enormous appetites. Lufhansa is now flying into the future with a new logo design. The symbol will be the same, but the colors will change. Goodbye yellow and gray, hello simple white and blue! Author: Conny Paul (ad)



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dm/kms (dpa, AP, AFP, Reuters)