Frankfurt - Lufthansa pilots are to go on strike Tuesday for the fifth time this year amid an ongoing row over retirement benefits.
The pilots' union, Vereinigung Cockpit, announced Monday that the industrial action will take place at Frankfurt airport, Germany's largest, from 8 am to 11 pm (0600 to 2100 GMT).
Travellers will face fresh disruptions as long-haul flights will be affected. The union said it was forced to resort to such measures as talks with the Lufthansa management were deadlocked and it had not offered a compromise.
The group's pilots have already walked off the job four times this year over Lufthansa's plans to scrap its current retirement benefits scheme.
Those strikes resulted in the cancellation of 4,300 flights and forced hundreds of thousands of passengers to face lengthy delays or make alternative transport arrangements.
The 5,400 pilots employed at Lufthansa, its budget offshoot Germanwings and Lufthansa Cargo want the company to maintain its current retirement benefits system, under which they can retire at 55 and continue to receive part of their wages.
Like other European carriers, Lufthansa is battling to reduce costs in the face of stiff competition from budget airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair as well as new emerging Middle East carriers, including Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Dubai-based Emirates.
Sapa-dpa