As many as 80% of Lufthansa flights face being grounded in the latest round of strike action staged at the German carrier.
Ground staff plan a 35-hour walkout from 8pm tonight (Monday) until 7.10am Central European Time on Wednesday morning in an ongoing dispute over pay.
The airports targeted by the Verdi union include the Lufthansa hubs of Frankfurt and Munich, plus Hamburg, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Cologne and Stuttgart.
The airline said: “Due to the strike, we currently assume that only around 10% to 20% of the Lufthansa Airline flight programme can be operated, particularly on 20 February.
“Passengers who are affected by flight cancellations because of the Verdi strike will be informed by email or via the Lufthansa app. We regret the inconvenience for our guests.
“Please only come to the airport if your flight has not been cancelled. Due to the strike, the rebooking counters are unfortunately not staffed.”
A similar strike caused the cancellation of 900 out of 1,000 planned flights at the start of February, affecting about 100,000 passengers.
Verdi is demanding a wage increase of 12.5% for 25,000 workers, or at least €500 more per month over a 12 month period, plus a one-time payment of €3,000 to offset inflation.
Michael Niggemann, the Lufthansa executive board member responsible for human resources, was reported by Reuters as saying the strike was unfortunate as the carrier had made a “far-reaching” offer during talks, which Verdi rejected, and it would inconvenience customers and staff alike.