At 13 German airports, warning one-day strikes by employees, which were earlier called by the Verdi service workers' union, have begun. The strikes began at 00:00 on Monday and are expected to last until 23:59, the DPA agency reported, citing a union representative.
Strikes are taking place at the airports of Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main, as well as at the airports of Cologne/Bonn and Leipzig/Halle. At the airports of Weeze near Düsseldorf and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, only employees from the aviation security sector took part in the strike. Air traffic will be disrupted over large parts of Germany. According to preliminary estimates by the ADV association, which represents the interests of various airports in Germany, more than 3,400 flights are expected to be canceled due to the strikes, and the plans of around 510,000 passengers are expected to be disrupted.
According to the German air traffic control service, there are currently an average of 6,000 flights per day at German airports. As ADV pointed out, during the latest strikes, 800,000 passengers were unable to catch their scheduled flights. According to Joachim Lang, a spokesman for the BDL air transport association, the strikes are disproportionate. He believes that new rules for conducting strikes in the critical infrastructure sector need to be adopted.
For example, at Germany's largest airport in Frankfurt am Main, 1,170 flights with a total of around 150,000 passengers are scheduled for March 10. The airport operator is asking passengers not to come to the terminals.
Verdi is demanding a wage increase, including for ground workers, of 8%, but not less than EUR 350 per month. The union also wants to negotiate three additional days off.