FRANKFURT, Feb 23: Deutsche Lufthansa may seek compensation after dozens of flights at Frankfurt airport had to be cancelled amid heightened security because of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Germany on Wednesday.

Lufthansa and its partners, including its regional airlines, scrapped 77 European flights, affecting some 5,000 passengers. Also, 178 flights were delayed by about an hour on average, a spokesman for the carrier said. Lufthansa and its partners normally operate about 750 flights on a Wednesday in total.

Lufthansa said it was examining whether it would seek damages from German state-owned air traffic controllers Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) following the disruption. The carrier said it could not yet say how much money it may seek.

"The problems are worse than feared," a Lufthansa spokesman said, adding that DFS told the airline only on Tuesday evening that it was increasing security precautions for the visit. -Reuters