Lufthansa pilot strike in Munich

The flight cancellations will affect about 13,500 passengers flying to or from Munich airport between 0800 and 1600 UTC on Wednesday, Lufthansa said. The company said at least 110 domestic and European flights would be canceled, with Reuters reporting on Wednesday morning that a further 30 flights had been grounded.

News agency DPA reports that the terminals at Munich, Germany's second-busiest airport, were quiet and flights were running as normal in the hours before the industrial action was due to take effect. Passengers had been notified of the impending cancellations.

While inter-continental flights were due to remain unaffected, the airline warned that delays were to be expected and the flow-on effects could also impact other airports.

Wednesday's eight-hour strike is the latest in several rounds of industrial action by the pilots' union Cockpit, which opposes plans by Lufthansa to gradually raise the retirement age for pilots to 61. At the moment, Lufthansa pilots can take early retirement packages starting at age 55 - the average pilot takes up retirement aged 59. The pilots are also asking for a pay rise.

Lufthansa criticized the union for organizing the strike near the end of Bavaria's summer holidays, which finish on September 14.

Last week a six-hour strike at Frankfurt airport led to the cancellation of 218 flights from Lufthansa and its budget carrier Germanwings.

se/msh (AFP, dpa)