German airport warning strike has begun
Published: Wednesday, Jan 31st 2024, 21:41
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The announced warning strike by security staff at German airports has begun. The night shift at Cologne/Bonn Airport went on strike on Wednesday evening, said the responsible Verdi union secretary Özay Tarim.
"Participation in passenger screening is 100 percent." At midnight, the industrial action should also start at other airports, such as Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. In total, the strike planned until late Thursday evening affects eleven major German airports.
At Cologne/Bonn Airport, around three quarters of flight movements have been canceled. At Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart airports, all take-offs planned for Thursday have even been canceled. According to estimates by the airport association ADV, around 1100 flights across Germany have been canceled or delayed. Around 200,000 passengers are affected.
2900 Swiss passengers affected
Around 2900 Swiss passengers are also affected by the strike. With a few exceptions, outbound flights to Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hanover, Stuttgart and Bremen can be operated from Switzerland, the airline told the Keystone-SDA news agency. But the return flights to Switzerland would have to be operated without passengers, with the exception of two flights from Düsseldorf.
Normal flight operations should not be possible again until Friday. The next Verdi warning strike is then already planned in Germany - nationwide in local public transport.
Keep hand luggage to a minimum
For flights taking place on Thursday despite the adverse circumstances, travelers must be prepared for long waiting times at the security checkpoints. To speed up the checks, they are asked to keep their hand luggage to a minimum.
In the wage dispute, Verdi is demanding 2.80 euros more pay per hour, higher function bonuses and overtime pay from the first hour of overtime. The new collective agreement is to run for 12 months. The employers' demands go too far. The wage negotiations are to continue on February 6 and 7 in Berlin.
©Keystone/SDA
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