Air traffic Warning strikes started at 13 German airports
The trade union Verdi has started its warning strikes at 13 German airports. The warning strike is to last 24 hours.
10.03.2025, 00:11
10.03.2025, 00:41
SDA
Since midnight, employees from the public sector of airport operators, ground handling services and aviation security have been on strike, as confirmed by a union spokesperson.
The warning strikes in other federal and local government institutions are also set to continue this week. The next round of negotiations for the public sector is scheduled for this Friday (March 14) in Potsdam.
Warning strikes even bigger than planned
The warning strikes in the public sector that have been planned since Friday are to be joined today by employees in the aviation security sector, as Verdi announced on Saturday. These employees work in passenger control, personnel, goods and freight control as well as in service areas. A new collective agreement for them is currently being negotiated with the employers in the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS). The next round of negotiations is scheduled for March 26 and 27.
The following airports are affected by the warning strikes in both wage disputes: Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Cologne/Bonn, Leipzig/Halle, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich. At Weeze Airport near Düsseldorf and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, only employees in the aviation security sector have been called out on strike.
Air traffic will come to a standstill in large parts of Germany: According to an initial estimate by the airport association ADV, more than 3,400 flights are expected to be canceled due to the strike in the public sector and ground handling services alone, and around 510,000 passengers will not be able to make their journeys as planned. According to German air traffic control, there are currently around 6,000 flight movements at German airports on an average day. In addition, there are around 3,000 overflights in German airspace.
Not able to get to the airport
Passengers will not be able to board flights at the Frankfurt hub and transit traffic will almost certainly be affected by the impact, warned the operator Fraport. A total of 1170 take-offs and landings with around 150,000 passengers were planned for Monday. Full flight operations would be suspended and only an emergency service would be maintained. The airport operator is calling on passengers not to come to the terminals. According to a spokesperson, Lufthansa is working on a replacement flight plan.
Union demands
In the collective bargaining negotiations, the union is demanding, among other things, an eight percent wage increase, but at least 350 euros more per month, as well as three additional days off. The employers have not yet presented a concrete offer.
In aviation security, Verdi is demanding, among other things, an improvement in occupational health and safety, 30 days' vacation and additional leave for shift work as well as a free choice of doctor for the regular mandatory medical fitness examinations for employees. The employers organized in the BDLS criticized the extension of the warning strike: "The strike measures now planned at 13 airports are not effective and merely underline the excessiveness on the part of the unions, which we are once again confronted with in this round of negotiations," said BDLS chief negotiator Christian Huber.
At some airports, the actions will only begin with the start of operations in the early hours of the morning. The strikers in Frankfurt are to meet for a rally in the morning.
In the current collective bargaining round for the public sector, there have already been strikes at the airports in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Munich, where numerous flights have been canceled. According to ADV, 800,000 passengers have already been affected.
Strikes disproportionate?
The strikes were disproportionate, said Joachim Lang, Managing Director of the German Air Transport Association (BDL). "An entire transport sector is being shut down across the board, even though airports and airlines, as well as restaurants, retailers and hotels, are not partners in collective bargaining. The collective bargaining conflict is thus being carried out solely on the backs of passengers, even before the next round of negotiations is due." Lang calls for new strike rules in the critical infrastructure sector.
