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Cabin crew at German flag carrier Lufthansa walked off of their jobs on Friday, with a strike that began at midnight (2200 Thursday GMT) and that will affect hundreds of flights.

 

Some 20,000 flight attendants have been called to strike until 10 p.m. on Friday.

 

The UFO trade union called a one-day strike for its members both with Lufthansa and its Cityline regional subsidiary, as wage negotiations continue to stall.

 

The walkout is Lufthansa's third major one this year. It follows two rounds of pilot strikes.

 

How is the strike expected to affect travel?
 

Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, canceled hundreds of flights in advance of the strike, as it struggles to mitigate the impact of the walkout.

 

Cancellations are expected to hit the hubs in Munich and Frankfurt, as well as other airports, including Leipzig/Halle, Berlin and Stuttgart. 

 

At its largest hub in Frankfurt, nearly 75% of some 350 scheduled Lufthansa departures were canceled.

 

Though the strike is only meant to affect departures in Germany, it is expected to lead to the cancellation of several return flights for Easter holiday travelers.

 

The airline advised its passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.

 

Lufthansa is struggling in negotiations not just with the UFO cabin crew union but also the pilots' trade union Vereinigung Cockpit.

 

The two organizations joined forces in early February in a bid to maximize the impact of their strike, leading to major disruptions. The pilots then went on strike for another two days in mid-March.