Lufthansa Cargo said it expected freighter services to return to normal today, and passenger flights by tomorrow, after the airline reached an agreement with its pilots.

Progress in talks between Lufthansa and the striking Vereinigung Cockpit union led to pilots agreeing late on Monday to return to work and suspend the strike action until at least 8 March.

The carrier said there were cargo backlogs to some destinations following three days of disruption to services, although these were expected to clear over the next few days.

A source at Lufthansa told IFW the airline was optimistic that a full agreement would be reached with the pilots that would avoid further industrial action.