New warning strikes in Germany affect tens of thousands of air travelers
Published: Thursday, Mar 14th 2024, 06:20
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The wave of strikes at German airports shows no signs of abating. Due to warning strikes by aviation security staff at five airports, tens of thousands of passengers will once again be unable to travel as planned on Thursday, according to industry estimates.
The warning strikes began last night at Berlin Airport, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the German trade union Verdi. According to Verdi, it was previously the turn of Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden and Cologne airports. The Verdi union has called further warning strikes by aviation security staff for this Friday.
Due to the all-day strike by aviation security staff on Thursday, passengers will no longer be able to enter the security area. According to estimates by the airport association ADV, more than 580 flights are likely to be canceled and 90,000 travelers will have to reschedule.
The security staff strike announced for Thursday will also have an impact on Swiss: several aircraft will have to fly back to Switzerland from Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart without passengers.
Continuation on Friday
On Friday, aviation security staff will then strike in Hanover, Dortmund, Weeze, Dresden and Leipzig and again in Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden. Verdi has also called on employees at Munich Airport working in personnel and goods control as well as cargo control to strike from Thursday at 04:00 until Friday at 06:00. This mainly affects the cargo area.
Germany's largest airport in Frankfurt is not affected by the warning strikes by aviation security staff this Thursday and Friday. However, the two-day strike by Lufthansa cabin crew on Tuesday and Wednesday could still result in delays and flight cancellations there and in Munich.
The collective bargaining in aviation security concerns the working conditions of around 25,000 employees of private security service providers. They check passengers, staff and baggage at the entrances to the security area on behalf of the Federal Police. Five rounds of negotiations have so far failed to produce a result. Verdi is demanding an hourly wage increase of 2.80 euros over a period of twelve months with overtime bonuses starting more quickly from the first hour of overtime.
©Keystone/SDA
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