Airport strike to all but freeze German air travel on Monday

BERLIN (Reuters) - More than half a million people are facing travel disruption at German airports on Monday where a 24-hour strike has led to thousands of flight cancellations in a dispute about workers' pay.

The operator of Frankfurt airport, Germany's busiest, said no passenger flights would depart from there on Monday, with delays and cancellations also possible on Tuesday.

Of the 1,116 incoming and outbound flights planned in Frankfurt on Monday, 1,050 had already been cancelled with that number expected to rise, a spokesperson for Fraport said.

The strike, called by the Verdi union on Friday, impacts 13 airports across the country, including Munich, Berlin and Dusseldorf.

Workers at Hamburg airport brought their strike forward by one day, with nearly 300 flight cancellation there on Sunday.

Verdi is demanding an 8% wage increase, or at least an increase of 350 euros ($380) more per month, as well as higher bonuses and additional time off.

Employers have rejected the demands as unaffordable.

Negotiations are due to continue later this month.

(Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Ludwig Burger)