Security personnel held a one-day walkout in the hope of piling on pressure ahead of pay talks with their employers' association next week.
The industrial action started at the airports in the northern cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen at midnight, trade union Verdi confirmed.
Some 5,000 security personnel at Frankfurt airport started striking at 2 am (0100 GMT).
In Frankfurt alone, according to airport operator Fraport, airlines cancelled 570 of a planned 1,200 arrivals and departures for Tuesday.
German national carrier Lufthansa had to cancel 400 of its 640 connections in Frankfurt, as well as 100 of 630 flights to and from Munich.
Strike action at various different times also affected airports in Dresden, Munich, Leipzig/Halle and Erfurt.
The Verdi trade union is calling for aviation security personnel across the country to be paid 20 euros (23 dollars) an hour.
Employers have only offered smaller increases, with rates for workers in eastern Germany set to rise at a slower pace than those enjoyed by their counterparts in the west.
Employers criticized the strike action as unreasonable and reiterated that they were ready for fresh wage talks due to start in Berlin next week.
The industrial action started at the airports in the northern cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen at midnight, trade union Verdi confirmed.
Some 5,000 security personnel at Frankfurt airport started striking at 2 am (0100 GMT).
In Frankfurt alone, according to airport operator Fraport, airlines cancelled 570 of a planned 1,200 arrivals and departures for Tuesday.
German national carrier Lufthansa had to cancel 400 of its 640 connections in Frankfurt, as well as 100 of 630 flights to and from Munich.
Strike action at various different times also affected airports in Dresden, Munich, Leipzig/Halle and Erfurt.
The Verdi trade union is calling for aviation security personnel across the country to be paid 20 euros (23 dollars) an hour.
Employers have only offered smaller increases, with rates for workers in eastern Germany set to rise at a slower pace than those enjoyed by their counterparts in the west.
Employers criticized the strike action as unreasonable and reiterated that they were ready for fresh wage talks due to start in Berlin next week.