Lufthansa Cargo's operations at Frankfurt and Munich airports were recovering this morning after a strike by ground staff lasting over 24 hours came to an end.

Ground staff at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo undertook strike action organised by trade union Ver.di from 4am CET on Wednesday February 7 until 7.10am on Thursday February 8.

Lufthansa Cargo's flight status tracker on its website showed the majority of flights from Frankfurt and Munich were cancelled on February 7 and showed further delays and cancellations this morning.

A Lufthansa Cargo spokesperson told Air Cargo News on Wednesday that its Frankfurt and Munich hubs were "affected by the strike", however, "we did not completely shut down".

The spokesperson added that the company is "planning to operate normally after the end of the strike".

The airline's most recent update on February 8 said: "Lufthansa plans to gradually resume flight operations in Frankfurt and Munich after the end of the Verdi strike on Thursday morning. Due to the massive impact of the strike on our flight operations, there may still be a few delays or flight cancellations throughout Thursday."

Last February, Lufthansa Cargo was affected by strikes of public sector workers and ground handlers organised by the Ver.di union at seven airports in Germany, including Frankfurt and Munich.

The industrial action follows a tough year for Lufthansa Cargo, reflecting a wider downturn in the air cargo sector in 2023.

Lufthansa's logistics business, which includes Lufthansa Cargo, saw third-quarter earnings before interest and tax (ebit) fall to €0 compared with a profit of €330m a year earlier.