Warning strike forces Lufthansa to cancel most flights Wednesday

July 27 (UPI) -- A strike forced Lufthansa to cancel nearly all of its flights Wednesday, Germany's national airline confirmed in a release.

A total of 678 flights were canceled at the company's hub in Frankfurt, including a handful Tuesday, affecting approximately 92,000 passengers. The airline also canceled 345 flights at its other hub in Munich, grounding some 42,000 passengers in the middle of the peak travel season.

The labor disruption involving trade union ver.di involves approximately 20,000 Lufthansa employees and has been termed a "warning strike."

"Looking ahead to the coming weekend, the start of the vacation season in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Lufthansa is working flat out to return flight operations to normal as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the effects of the strike may still lead to individual flight cancellations or delays on Thursday and Friday," the company said in a statement.

"There will be many cancellations and delays," union manager Christine Behle told Aviation24.

"The situation at the airports is degenerating and the employees are increasingly under pressure and overloaded due to a major lack of staff, high inflation and the absence of a raise for three years. ver.di calls for the all-day strike to increase pressure on employers to agree to a significantly improved final offer in the next round of negotiations."

Including its subsidiaries, Lufthansa is the second-largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried.

"Passengers affected by cancellations will be informed immediately today and rebooked on alternative flights if possible. However, the capacities available for this are very limited," the company said.

Only one of Lufthansa's four scheduled flights to New York's JFK International Airport was not canceled Wednesday, but was delayed.

Other international cancellations include flights to and from Bangkok, Singapore, Los Angeles, Johannesburg and New Delhi.