Around 200 workers at Frankfurt airport, Europe’s third-busiest, went on strike over pay yesterday, forcing 150 flights to be cancelled and risking Europe-wide air travel disruption for thousands.

In the first of two planned days of warning strikes, the airport’s so-called “apron control” staff – who direct aircraft in and out of their parking positions – stopped work at 3 p.m.

Of the 1,250 flights planned for yesterday, 150 had been cancelled as of the afternoon, according to an official of Fraport, the company which owns and operates Germany’s biggest airport.

Initially, the GdF air traffic workers union had planned only one day of action, until 10 p.m. yesterday. But it was decided to repeat the strike again from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. today to increase the pressure on Fraport.

A Fraport spokesman advised passengers to contact airlines directly, because it was primarily up to them to decide which flights would take off or land.

German carrier Lufthansa, which has its main hub in Frankfurt, said it would cancel as many as 100 flights out of a total 316 taking off or landing yesterday.

So far, only flights within Europe had been affected, with all long-haul flights going ahead, a spokeswoman said.

Travellers seemed resigned to having their travel plans disrupted, with some voicing sympathy over the strike action.

The wage dispute concerns some 200 personnel.