A strike by security staff paralyzed air traffic at eleven airports in Germany on Thursday. Austrian travelers are also affected; according to Austrian Airlines (AUA), adjustments are being made to 35 flights. Seven flights from Vienna to Germany were canceled and 3,100 passengers had to be rebooked, the AUA said in a statement on Thursday. However, there are greater restrictions on connections from Germany to Vienna.
The airline emphasized that affected passengers will be proactively informed about any cancellations or delays. The Verdi union began its strike on Wednesday evening. The start was in Cologne/Bonn, where, according to Verdi, the night shift of passenger control did not show up for work on Wednesday evening. Participation there is one hundred percent, said the responsible union secretary Özay Tarim. “That was a successful start to the strike.”
Numerous flights canceled
Frankfurt Airport followed later: As the airport operator Fraport announced, boarding is not possible in Frankfurt. Therefore, numerous flights were canceled. However, the main customer, AUA parent Lufthansa, had announced that it would maintain the majority of its program in Frankfurt, including long-distance flights.
Around 80 percent of the flight movements that were planned in Cologne/Bonn for Thursday were canceled there, as the airport website showed early on Thursday morning. Verdi man Tarim expected that this proportion would increase over the course of the day. The consequences are even more serious at Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart airports, where all takeoffs have been canceled. In Düsseldorf, however, it was only a third, two thirds of the flight movements were supposed to be carried out.
Important: Check the status of your flights
The employees at the checkpoints at eleven larger airports outside Bavaria are called upon. If they stop working completely, no passengers from outside will come to the aircraft in the security area.
Connections to Austria are also affected
According to estimates by the airport association ADV, around 1,100 flights will be canceled or delayed. Around 200,000 passengers are affected. In all cases, travelers are encouraged to check the status of their flights to avoid getting stranded at the airport.
Verdi, meanwhile, called for another warning strike. This time, ground handling service providers should stop work at Hamburg Airport from 3 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., the union announced.
Trade unionist Tarim said they wanted to send a clear signal. “We will now use employees to put pressure on employers so that we can finally make progress at the negotiating table.” The collective bargaining talks are scheduled to continue on February 6th in Berlin.
In the salary dispute, Verdi is demanding 2.80 euros more wages per hour, higher functional bonuses and overtime bonuses from the first hour of overtime. According to their own information, employers from the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) have offered 4 percent more money for this year and 3 percent more money for next year.
