Ground staff at German flag carrier Lufthansa will go on strike this Wednesday, the Verdi union said on Monday, in the latest bout of industrial action to hit Germany's transport sector as workers demand more pay.
The strike is scheduled to start at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) and last until 7:10 a.m. on Thursday, the union said in a statement.
Airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Dusseldorf will be affected.
A Lufthansa spokesperson said it was too soon to say how many flights would be cancelled, as the airline draws up an emergency timetable looking at the 3,000 daily flights that could be potentially impacted by the strike.
"It will naturally be a lot," the spokesperson said.
Ground services are one of several branches at Lufthansa currently negotiating collective bargaining agreements.
In talks over contracts for ground staff, Verdi is demanding a wage increase of 12.5% for 25,000 workers, or at least 500 euros ($544.30) more per month over a 12-month-period, plus a one-time payment of 3,000 euros to offset inflation.
The union has argued that a higher cost of living and heavy workload due to staff shortages are grounds for higher pay.
Lufthansa ground staff walked off the job in July 2022 during the last round of collective bargaining negotiations, causing major travel disruption.
Since then, Europe's largest economy has been hit with a number of nationwide strikes impacting air travel, railways and public transport.