Flights cancelled as strike disrupts German air travel

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at German airports as ground staff strike over demands for more pay.

National airline Lufthansa said it had scrapped more than 400 flights scheduled for Tuesday, mostly at Germany's biggest airport, Frankfurt.

The walkout is part of wider industrial action by public sector employees ahead of further talks due later this week.

Service workers' union Verdi is demanding a 6.5% pay rise for its two million members.

About a third of flights were cancelled at Frankfurt, a spokesman said. Munich, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne-Bonn and Hannover are also among the airports affected.

In earlier talks, the union rejected an offer of a 3.3% pay increase over 24 months from public sector employers. Further negotiations are scheduled to start on Wednesday.

The union says public sector workers are undervalued, and that their pay has been squeezed by national and local governments trying to keep spending down.