Nearly 640 flights were canceled in Germany today, due to a strike by security officers at three airports, impeding the travel of some 100,000 people.
The number of cancellations was more than half the planned in Düsseldorf, Cologne, Bonn and Stuttgart.
Düsseldorf Airport, Germany's third-largest airport, confirmed in a statement the cancellation of 370 of the 580 scheduled departure flights today.
The strike, which is expected to last from 3 am (0200 GMT) until midnight (1100 GMT), will affect about 100,000 passengers.
At the Cologne-Bonn airport, where 131 of the 200 flights have been canceled, the union said, "Verdi" that the strike of security personnel also delay the transfer of freight.
The union, which represents 23,000 airport security workers across Germany, is demanding a pay raise of 20 euros ($ 23.08) per hour, compared to the current 17 euros, or about 18 percent.
But the employers' union, PDSS, has shown an increase of between 2 and 8 percent.
The dispute over pay for the two passengers was reflected when the Berlin airport, Tegel and Schoenfeld, saw "warning strikes" that led to the cancellation of some 50 departures.
The next round of negotiations between the Verdi union and the employers union is scheduled for Jan. 23.