Strikes at airports on Friday: 2,340 flights are cancelled

Verdi has called for all-day warning strikes at several German airports on Friday. 300,000 passengers are affected by over 2,300 flights that have to be cancelled.

Frankfurt – Large parts of German air traffic have been paralyzed since Friday morning. In Frankfurt, Munich, Hanover, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hamburg and Dortmund, regular operations largely came to a standstill due to the strike. Even at airports not affected by the strike, such as Berlin, there were some restrictions as a result of the warning strikes.

Verdi airport strike: days of chaos for Lufthansa

According to estimates by the airport association ADV, almost 300,000 passengers are affected by a good 2,340 flight cancellations. The association spoke of an “unprecedented escalation”. Lufthansa alone had to cancel around 1,300 connections after overcoming the IT breakdown caused by an excavator on Wednesday. Due to the IT breakdown, airport operations in Frankfurt had to come to a complete standstill at times.

Verdi strike: collective bargaining round continues on February 22nd

With the walkout, not only at the airports, the employees want to emphasize their demands in the collective bargaining dispute between the federal and local governments. In addition to the public service, there are also local negotiations for ground handling services and a nationwide round of collective bargaining for aviation security. Joint rallies are planned.

Verdi and the civil servants’ association DBB are demanding 10.5 percent more income in the public service wage dispute, but at least 500 euros more for the approximately 2.5 million federal and local employees. The term should be twelve months. The employers have rejected the claims. The second round of negotiations is scheduled for February 22nd and 23rd in Potsdam. An offer from the employer has not yet been received.

“If nothing happens now in terms of remuneration, then we will all face another summer of chaos – and we urgently need to prevent that,” said Verdi Vice Christine Behle on Friday morning on RBB Inforadio.

Strikes at German airports: Thousands of strikers expected

There are supposed to be rallies on Friday at the seven airports affected by the strike. Between 2,000 and 3,000 demonstrators were expected in Frankfurt alone. The rally begins at 11 a.m. at Munich Airport.

The carnival holidays in Bavaria start today. In addition to the holiday planes, arrivals for the Munich Security Conference starting today are also affected. However, exceptions have been approved for the MSC. “All private flights registered for the MSC will be accepted and processed,” said an airport spokesman on Thursday. Participants who had booked a scheduled flight would have to rebook.

Some MSC participants also used Thursday to travel there. US Vice President Kamala Harris landed in the Bavarian capital in the morning. (wal/dpa)