Germany's Lufthansa says it has cancelled almost 900 domestic and intercontinental flights on the first day of a three-day strike by the pilots' union.


Airline spokeswoman Barbara Schaedler said that up to 900 flights were cancelled for Wednesday and that it expects to cancel about 3,800 flights altogether, affecting more than 425,000 passengers.


Schaedler said the airline had done whatever it could to offer alternative travel arrangements for its passengers and rebooked many customers on trains or different airlines.


The pilots' union Cockpit had called for the strike for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in a long-running pay dispute.