The Lufthansa strike could be over. The airline says it has reached a pay deal with the Verdi union, representing 50,000 ground staff, five days into an open-ended walk-out which has seen hundreds of flights cancelled.

Management and unionists eventually met in the middle. Lufthansa was offering a 6.7 percent rise over 21 months. Ground staff wanted 9.8 percent.

The figure eventually agreed upon was 7.4 percent over 21 months, plus a lump sum.

The same offer will now be put to the cabin staff union which had demanded 15 percent.

It is the first time in more than a decade that workers at Lufthansa have gone on strike.

Both long-haul and short-haul flights have been affected. Lufthansa estimated a loss of five million euros a day because of the strike, at a time when it is trying to deal with soaring fuel costs.

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