A strike by Lufthansa ground and cabin staff over pay has barely disrupted flights to and from German airports, the Europe’s leading airline informed on Monday.

Thousands of passengers had to wait at the airports by reason of the strike by up to 5,000 members of the Verdi services union. The walkout began Sunday at midnight at several German airports, including international hubs Frankfurt and Hamburg, and threatened to hit support areas from catering and cargo to maintenance and repairs.

In spite of planned strikes at some of Germany's largest airports, "almost 100 percent” of Lufthansa flights are flying according to their timetable, Lufthansa spokesman Klaus Walther announced. As shown by television pictures, airplanes were taking off and departure boards revealed only insignificant delays.

In order to diminish the impact of the walkout, the airline tried to reassign non-striking staff to other duties.

Analysts estimated the cost of the strike at approximately 5 million Euros per day for Lufthansa, one of the world’s largest airline companies.

"The effects of the strike are likely to grow in the course of the day and in coming days," Verdi negotiator Erhard Ott told ZDF, a public service German television channel based in Mainz. Ott added that the strike’s purpose was to be prejudicial to the company rather than to trigger to a great number of flight delays and cancellations. Verdi, which represents 52,000 air industry employees, requires a 9.8% pay rise for one year. The company is offering 6.7% over 21 months and a one-time payment.