Dozens of flights cancelled as German airport security staff strike

Delays and cancellations were affecting several German airports on Monday as workers at passenger security checkpoints held an all-day strike over pay and conditions.

At Cologne/Bonn Airport, the employees stopped work "completely" shortly after midnight, the Verdi union told dpa. Some 94 flights were cancelled, the airport operator said, including 59 departures and 35 arrivals.

Strike action is also talking place at airports in Düsseldorf, Berlin, Bremen, Hanover and Leipzig.

During the day, Verdi announced that the staff in Munich airport, Germany's second largest, were also going on strike.

On Tuesday, the action is set to affect Frankfurt - Germany's largest air travel hub - as well as Hamburg, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden.

The operator of Frankfurt airport urged passengers not to come to catch their plans while the strike was on. There would be no way of them getting to their flights, Fraport said. Some 770 flights were on the schedule at Frankfurt on Tuesday.

The operator of Berlin-Brandenburg Airport said passengers should contact the airlines about potential delays or cancellations and plan more time for their journey.

Airport operators in Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn have said they are expecting numerous flight cancellations.

The unions are negotiating with the owners over a new work contract from some 25,000 workers, but after three rounds, the talks have not reached a conclusion.

Further talks are planned this week.