At Germany's airports, another day of turmoil ends in conciliation
A member of German air carrier Lufthansa’s cabin crew union, with the company’s logo painted on his face, joins a demonstration at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt on Sept. 7. Lufthansa made a key concession Friday and both sides agreed to a mediator, as a 24-hour walkout that grounded half the airline’s flights in Germany entered its final hours.KAI PFAFFENBACH/Reuters
UFO union members demonstrate at Berlin’s Tegel airport Sept. 7. The union, which represents around two-thirds of Lufthansa's 19,000 cabin crew, had called for a 24-hour strike at all German airports on Friday.TOBIAS SCHWARZ/Reuters
Lufthansa on Friday agreed not to employ cheaper contract workers in Berlin, meeting a key union demand.KAI PFAFFENBACH/Reuters
Luis, a dog belonging to a union member, wears a badge reading ‘Strike’ during a demonstration outside a Lufthansa office building at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt Sept. 7. More than 100,000 passengers were affected by Friday’s strike.KAI PFAFFENBACH/Reuters
A flight schedule board shows cancelled flights at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt, Sept. 7, 2012. Lufthansa cancelled more than 900 flights.KAI PFAFFENBACH/Reuters
Travellers who opted for alternative transportation wait for an Intercity-Express train to Stuttgart via Frankfurt at Berlin's main train station Sept. 7, 2012.THOMAS PETER/Reuters
Passengers board a train to Stuttgart at Berlin’s main train station, Sept. 7. Lufthansa informed passengers in advance about flight cancellations via text messages and on its website.THOMAS PETER/Reuters
Camp beds for stranded passengers of German air carrier Lufthansa are lined up in front of check-in counters at the international airport in Munich Sept. 7.MICHAEL DALDER/Reuters
Nicoley Baublies, head of UFO, delivers a speech to striking workers at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt, Sept. 7, 2012. ‘We need a couple’s therapist,’ he said after both sides agreed to a mediator.KAI PFAFFENBACH/Reuters
People queue at rental car desks at the international airport in Munich Sept. 7, 2012.MICHAEL DALDER/Reuters
A stranded passenger sleeps at the Lufthansa terminal at the international airport in Munich Sept. 7, 2012.MICHAEL DALDER/Reuters
Lufthansa check-in counters at the international airport in Munich September remained empty on Friday evening. Management and the union hope to sign new wage agreements for cabin crews by Wednesday.MICHAEL DALDER/Reuters