Germany: Strikes at 4 airports stop hundreds of flights

Four German airports were hit by strikes on Friday, with hundreds of flights canceled in the latest round of industrial action to derail travel plans in recent months.

The German union Verdi has called on security and groundhandling staff at four airports to carry out walkouts over working conditions and wages.

How big is the strike?

The strikes were expected to result in 681 flight cancellations, says the German Airports Association. Around 89,000 passengers were expected to be affected.

Affected airports include the busiest hubs in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia – Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn – as well as the two biggest in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg – Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden and Stuttgart .

A spokesman for Verdi confirmed full-day strikes at both airports on Friday morning, involving security and ground handling personnel.

In Cologne, almost all flights – 144 of the 148 originally planned landings and takeoffs of passenger aircraft – would not take place, a spokesman said.

At Düsseldorf – the largest of the airports, where around 500 employees were on strike – 264 of the 391 originally planned take-offs and landings were affected.

The time of the strike varied, starting at 22:00 local time (21:00 GMT/UTC) on Thursday in Cologne and at 03:00 in Düsseldorf.

Due to shift and weather patterns, strikes were not expected to end until the early hours of Saturday morning in some areas.

Airport operators urged passengers to check the status of their airlines and tour operators before heading to the airport.

“We have a good turnout, the mood is determined,” said a Verdi spokesman.

Broader chain of travel industry shutdowns

Earlier in the week there were strikes at airports in Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg – the latest in a series of stoppages as the post-pandemic travel recovery is hit by staffing problems and calls for pay increases.

Verdi called the strike amid unsuccessful negotiations between industry and public sector bosses in various sectors, most notably in the areas of travel and healthcare.

The public transport company in the western city of Cologne said it expected transport there to be hit by a strike next Monday and Tuesday.

Negotiations are being held for some 2.5 million federal and municipal employees across the country, demanding a pay rise of 10.5%, or at least €500 ($527) more per month. Employers have so far only offered a two-step 5% raise and one-off payments of €2,500, with a third round of talks scheduled for March 27-29.

Nationwide strike calls were issued to hospitals, psychiatric clinics, nursing homes and emergency services, the union said.

There were strikes in several hospitals in the northern cities of Hamburg and Kiel on Wednesday, as well as in other parts of the country, along with some childcare centers.

rc/jcg (dpa, Reuters)

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