German airline Lufthansa said it will cancel 290 flights later Friday, the first day of a planned week of walkouts by cabin staff in a long-running dispute over cost-saving measures.

Some 37,500 passengers would be hit by the nine-hour strike scheduled to begin at 1300 GMT and affecting the Frankfurt and Duesseldorf airports, Lufthansa said in a statement. 

"Around 10 percent of all flights will have to be cancelled. Of a total 3,000 connections scheduled for today, 290 flights will be cancelled, including 23 inter-continental services," the statement said.