ABOUT 4,500 Lufthansa employees walked off their jobs for several hours early yesterday, disrupting flights to and from airports across Germany in an effort to win more pay, union organizers said.

Lufthansa said that by midday it had been forced to cancel 44 domestic German flights, while dozens of others were delayed.

The strike mainly involved ground personnel from Frankfurt Airport, but employees in Munich, Stuttgart and Cologne also walked off their jobs for up to four hours.

"Participation in the warning strikes is far better than we had expected," said Gerhard Straube, a representative of the ver.di union.

The union is seeking a 9.8 percent pay hike for Lufthansa's roughly 60,000 ground and cabin personnel. The airline has offered a total of 5.5 percent in graded increases over the year.

Lufthansa said it regretted the strike action.

Wage talks between the two sides are to continue on Thursday.