Lufthansa cabin crew to strike again Tuesday

Cabin staff at German airline Lufthansa will hold a fresh strike from 5:00 am (0300 GMT) until 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) on Tuesday, the UFO labour union said Monday. A first strike took place at Frankfurt airport on Friday, but UFO has decided to stage the new walkout at Berlin-Tegel airport, one of the two serving the German capital. Hundreds of flights were cancelled Friday, and passengers must prepare for further disruptions as the union promised the new strike will have a bigger impact than earlier ones. Passengers on Lufthansa flights will be informed about developments by email or text message. The strike was called after Lufthansa's management failed to come to an agreement with employees over salary and working conditions. UFO, which represents some two-thirds of Lufthansa's 18,000 cabin crew, is seeking a five percent pay increase for cabin staff for 15 months, backdated to January this year after three years of wage freeze. It is also opposed to the use of temporary cabin staff in Lufthansa aircraft. According to Lufthansa official Peter Gerber, the airline had offered a salary hike of "about 3.5 percent".