Frankfurt  - Flight attendants of German flag carrier Lufthansa began a six-hour strike at 6 am (0500 GMT) Wednesday on several short- and medium-haul routes, their union said.

Joachim Mueller of the flight attendant union UFO said up to 100 Lufthansa flights departing Frankfurt were affected. He expected participation in the strike to be on levels similar to a three-hour strike on Friday, when 44 flights had to be cancelled.

UFO, which however represents only a fraction of the cabin crew, wants to increase pressure on Lufthansa to grant pay increases to its 16,000 flight attendants. (dpa)