STRIKES by pilots and cabin crew at Lufthansa caused a wave of flight cancellations today across Germany’s biggest airline.

Lufthansa said the industrial actions, called by the Vereinigung Cockpit and UFO unions, had led to extensive cancellations, but did not give a specific figure.

The two unions had called for the 24-hour walkouts on Tuesday.

Vereinigung Cockpit downed tools on flights departing from Germany as part of a dispute over the pension system for pilots at the airline and its Lufthansa Cargo unit.

UFO meanwhile called for members to strike on flights departing Frankfurt and Munich and flights by the Lufthansa Cityline unit, as part of its demand to open negotiations.

Lufthansa criticised the walkouts as disproportionate but said it expects to offer a largely normal flight programme on Friday.

The departures board at the airline’s main Frankfurt hub suggested most of its flights from there today morning were cancelled.

The airline said it was trying to rebook passengers onto flights by partner airlines and other companies from the Lufthansa group, which includes airlines such as Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.