Hundreds of flights canceled in Germany as airports hit by strikes

FRANKFURT - Thousands of passengers were left stranded at German airports on Tuesday as more than 60,000 ground staff and other public sector workers staged walkouts across the country to increase the pressure in a pay dispute.

Lufthansa had said it was canceling more than 800 of its planned 1,600 flights on Tuesday and Frankfurt airport operator Fraport had warned of disruption.

As well as Frankfurt, Germany's busiest hub for airlines, the strikes hit airports in Munich, Cologne and Bremen. The industrial action also affected nurseries, rubbish collection services and swimming pools in several German states.