Frankfurt — Major disruption were reported at several German airports - including the country's busiest, Frankfurt - on Tuesday as security staff went on strike.

Freight and passenger security workers at Frankfurt Airport started their strike at 2 am ( 0100 GMT), a spokesperson for the Verdi union said, meaning passengers could not get to their planes. Transit passengers were taken care of by emergency back-up staff.

Some 130 out of 818 flights were cancelled, Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport said early on Tuesday. Many passengers had heeded warnings not to come to the airport

The strike action is part of a contract dispute between Verdi and the federal aviation security association BDLS.

The union is negotiating with the employers' association for a new contract for around 25,000 security workers nationwide. Three rounds of talks have already yielded no results.

Airports in Hamburg, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden also saw staff strike on Tuesday. In Hamburg all departures were cancelled.

"High passenger volume expected on Wednesday: Passengers should arrive early at the airport tomorrow," the airport noted on its website.

At Germany's second-largest airport, Munich, staff have been on strike since Monday. In total, eight airports were hit by the strike on Monday.

Further negotiations are due to take place on Wednesday and Thursday. The union's demands include an increase in hourly wages of at least 1€ ($1.09)per hour.

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