BERLIN, Jan 28: Some 80 flights from Berlin and Frankfurt airports were cancelled on Wednesday and dozens more delayed as Lufthansa flight attendants staged a second warning strike over pay, the airline said.

The industrial action ran between 6:00 am and 12:00 pm (0500 GMT to 1100 GMT) and affected short and long-haul flights to and from Frankfurt, continental Europe’s biggest hub, and Berlin-Tegel airport, Lufthansa said.

Staff stopped work in a bid to ratchet up the pressure on employers during wage negotiations. The flight attendants are demanding a 15-per cent pay rise. The airline has offered 10 per cent. Talks between union representatives UFO — which represents half of the 16,000 flight attendants at Lufthansa — and the airline broke down two weeks ago without agreement.

Rail services in Germany were also expected to be hit on Thursday as several hundred rail workers down tools, protesting about working hours.

The Transnet and GDBA unions said their warning strike would begin at 4:30 am (0330 GMT) and affect several large German cities, including Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. The industrial action was to end by mid-morning.

Transnet chairwoman Regina Rusch-Ziemba said: “We do not want to bring the rail network to a complete standstill out of consideration for rail passengers.” —AFP