Lufthansa cabin crew to strike in Frankfurt, Berlin

Strike in a row over pay & conditions forced cancellation of almost 200 flights, leaving 26,000 passengers stranded

Lufthansa passengers face further disruption after cabin crew representatives said late on Monday they would go on strike on Tuesday for 8 hours in Frankfurt and Berlin in a row over pay and conditions.

The German cabin crew union UFO said it was calling on its members working at Lufthansa to go on strike in Frankfurt from 0400-1200 GMT and in Berlin's Tegel airport from 0300-1100 GMT on Tuesday.

An eight-hour strike at Frankfurt on Friday forced the cancellation of almost 200 Lufthansa flights, leaving 26,000 passengers stranded and costing Germany's biggest airline millions.

The airport, Germany's busiest, was also closed to inbound flights from Europe for several hours due to congestion.

The UFO union, which is calling for a 5 percent pay increase and guarantees against outsourcing and the use of temporary workers, had threatened to widen the strike action if Lufthansa did not make any concessions.

Lufthansa is in the midst of a 1.5 billion euro cost-cutting programme to combat rising fuel costs and competition from low-cost and Gulf carriers. The airline has said it will not improve its offer - 3.5 percent more pay, but longer hours.