Germany's Lufthansa cancels most scheduled flights on Monday, when ground staff will strike

BERLIN – Lufthansa has canceled most flights scheduled on Monday, when the German airline's ground staff plan to stage a one-day strike in a pay dispute.

The airline said Saturday that only about 20 of more than 1,650 scheduled short-haul flights will operate. It said that many long-haul flights also will be hit — only six of 50 planned flights will operate at its main Frankfurt hub, and only three of 17 in Munich. Duesseldorf airport's three scheduled long-haul services will go ahead as scheduled.

The ver.di union announced the one-day "warning strike" — a tactic commonly used to raise pressure in wage talks — on Friday. Lufthansa on Wednesday rejected the union's demand for wage increases of 5.2 percent over the next year and job guarantees.