Flight cancellations at Hamburg Airport after a surprise strike by workers have affected more than 40,000 passengers.

Nearly 300 flights were cancelled at Hamburg airport on Sunday as ground handlers walked out ahead of wider strikes planned across Germany on Monday. German trade union Verdi had not given notice of the move,

The airport in Germany’s second largest city said the one-day strike, called over pay and conditions, began earlier than expected “without any notice.”

Other airports to be affected on Monday include Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn, Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Hanover, Bremen, Berlin and Leipzig-Halle.

All flights to and from Hamburg Airport have been cancelled in response to a pay strike after services trade union verdi brought the action forward by a day without prior notice, an airport spokeswoman announced on Sunday.

Ground staff walked out "without prior notice," hours before a 24-hour strike was due to begin at a dozen German airports.

Verdi has also called for strikes at German airports on Monday. At 13 airports in Germany, employees in passenger control, personnel, goods and cargo control, and in service areas are going on strike from Monday night to Tuesday night, German trade unions announced on Saturday evening.

The start of a spontaneous strike, organized today, March 9, by the Verdi trade union without any prior warnings, paralyzed the operation of Hamburg airport, Focus magazine writes.

Germany's Verdi union has brought forward the planned warning strike at Hamburg airport by one day, largely paralysing air traffic on Sunday.

Berlin’s airport has canceled all of its flights for Monday ahead of a labor union strike that’s expected to impact thousands of flights at 11 airports across Germany

Flight cancellations at Hamburg Airport after a surprise strike by workers affected more than 40,000 passengers on Sunday, a day before a planned wider protest across Germany amid new contract negotiations.