Lufthansa ready for arbitration as cabin crew strike begins

QUIET TERMINALS

Lufthansa on Wednesday said it expected to cancel a total of 1,300 flights on Thursday and Friday with 180,000 passengers affected.

Frankfurt, one of the airline largest hubs in Europe, was most affected by the walkout, with some 400 connections cancelled on Thursday alone, the airline said.

The departure board on Frankfurt airport's website showed cancelled flights to Germany, Europe and the United States.

But there were no signs of chaos. "It's quiet in the terminals," a spokeswoman for the airport said, adding that many passengers had rebooked onto different flights and had not shown up.

The DAX-listed company this week unsuccessfully tried to challenge the walkout in court.

One day of strike action would cost the company an estimated 10 million to 20 million euros, CFO Ulrik Svensson said. Even rumours of a walkout would deter customers, he added.