A ruling is expected later on Monday.

In advance of the planned strike, the airline said it cancelled 816 short- and medium-haul flights on Tuesday and 890 on Wednesday, when long-haul flights would also be affected.

An earlier four-day strike that ended Sunday resulted in the cancellation of 3,000 flights.

The walk-off was prompted by a breakdown in salary negotiations for Lufthansa’s 5,400 pilots and co-pilots, with the Vereinigung Cockpit union rejecting a new wage offer.

The offer from the management of Germany’s biggest carrier had foreseen a 4.4-per-cent salary increase and a one-time payout equivalent to 1.8 month’s salary.

During the four-day action last week, a court in Frankfurt rejected a request by Lufthansa for an injunction to stop the pilots’ strike.