Less than 24 hours after 4,000 pilots for German airline Lufthansa walked off the job, the strike was suspended as talks resumed between the flyboys and girls and the company.

A long-term strike by the Lufthansa pilots could have resulted in major disruptions to air travel around the world. The airline is the largest in Europe and the fifth-largest overall, offering around 1,800 flights every day.

Even with only a brief interruption in service, 10,000 ticket holders were still disrupted. The airline did manage to get off about half of the day’s scheduled flights during the period of the strike and attempted to get the remaining passengers either on other carriers or onto trains.

Company executives claim that a strike could cost Lufthansa around $34 million each day.

The strike officially ends at 11pm GMT tonight and there is to be no further action taken by the pilots until at least March 9.

Lufthansa pilots suspend strike [BBC News]

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