Berlin
AP
—
Workers at 13 German airports went on strike for one day, starting at midnight. This included major hubs like Frankfurt and Munich, and it disrupted flights across the country on Monday.
The strike involved public-sector employees, ground staff, and security workers. It had a significant impact on air traffic.
At Frankfurt Airport, over 1,000 flights were canceled out of a total of 1,116 scheduled for the day. This information comes from the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
All flights to and from Berlin Airport were halted. Hamburg Airport reported that no flights could take off, while Cologne/Bonn Airport had no passenger services. Munich Airport warned travelers of a greatly reduced flight schedule.
The Verdi union, which represents the workers, organized the strike. Other airports affected included Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Leipzig/Halle, Stuttgart, and more. At smaller airports like Weeze and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, only security staff participated in the walkout.
The strike was announced on Friday. However, an unexpected walkout was also added at Hamburg Airport on Sunday to ensure the strike made a strong impact.
This “warning strike” is a usual strategy in Germany when negotiating wages. It is aimed at resolving issues with pay for both airport security workers and public employees.
Previous strikes have already occurred at Cologne/Bonn, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, and Munich airports due to ongoing pay disputes. Further discussions on pay are scheduled for Friday, while talks for airport security workers will resume on March 26.
