Security staff strikes at Berlin, Hamburg, and Stuttgart airports force Swiss airlines to fly aircraft back to Switzerland without passengers.

The strike announced for Thursday by security staff at three German airports will also have an impact on Swiss: several aircraft will have to fly back to Switzerland from Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart without passengers.

The airline announced on Wednesday that Swiss’s outbound flights can take place as planned. However, the planes will have to take off on the return flight without passengers.

1800 Passengers Have To Rebook

A total of 16 Swiss flights are affected: 8 from Berlin to Zurich, 5 from Hamburg to Zurich and 3 from Stuttgart to Zurich. 1,800 passengers will now be “proactively rebooked on flights at a later date”, Swiss also announced.

With the strike, the German trade union Verdi wants to increase the pressure on the ongoing wage negotiations for the approximately 25,000 employees in aviation security.

The employer must “finally present a significantly improved offer that can be agreed”. No agreement has been reached between the bargaining parties in the five rounds to date. The next round of negotiations will take place on March 20.

©Keystone/SDA