Frankfurt, Sep 9 (IANS/EFE): The Labour Court of the German federal state of Hesse on Wednesday ordered an end to the Lufthansa pilots' strike, after accepting an urgent appeal from the company.

The Labor Courts in the German cities of Frankfurt and Cologne rejected on Tuesday the lawsuit filed by the air carrier to halt the strike of the pilot union, Vereinigung Cockpit or VC.

Lufthansa had to cancel 1,000 of the 3,000 flights scheduled for Wednesday, affecting 140,000 passengers.

The pilots, who are expected to return to work on Thursday, extended on Wednesday their strike to short- and long-haul flights, after beginning the strike on long-haul flights on Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of 84 flights.

Lufthansa accused VC of organising a "deceptive strike" as the pilots were not protesting to change retirement ages, but rather against the company's plan to create a new low-cost subsidiary, similar to Germanwings, where pilots earn less.