Air travelers must have good nerves at the moment because the unions have called for strikes again. First, the cabin union UFO wants to paralyze Munich Airport. On Thursday ver.di is on strike at five more airports.
Due to several strikes in air transport, travelers will have to accept significant restrictions in the coming days. At Munich Airport, the UFO cabin union is continuing its strike at Lufthansa that began on Tuesday in Frankfurt am Main.
And the next industrial dispute is already imminent for passengers at several other airports: The ver.di union has called on the aviation security forces at the Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden Baden airports to go on a warning strike again on Thursday. Employees in passenger checks, people and goods checks, cargo checks and in service areas should stop working all day.
120,000 Lufthansa passengers affected
After the ground staff strikes organized by ver.di last week, flight attendants from Lufthansa and the regional subsidiary Cityline in Frankfurt am Main went on strike on Tuesday. From 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. there was a strike on all Lufthansa departures at Germany’s largest airport. Around 600 flights were canceled in Frankfurt, affecting 70,000 passengers.
UFO has called on Lufthansa cabin crew in Munich to go on strike on Wednesday from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. According to Lufthansa’s estimates, 400 flights with 50,000 passengers will not be able to take off there.
Negotiations continue
Negotiations with ver.di for the approximately 25,000 ground workers are scheduled to continue on Wednesday and Thursday despite the strike. The union is demanding 12.5 percent more money per month for a term of one year, while the company has offered ten percent for a term of 28 months. The UFO union, in turn, is demanding 15 percent more money for the approximately 18,000 cabin employees at Lufthansa and the almost 1,000 employees at Cityline, with a contract term of one and a half years.
According to its own information, Lufthansa has offered a salary increase of six percent for August 2024 and a further 3.25 percent for August 2025 over a period of two years. In addition, cabin employees should receive an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros in April 2024.
Criticism from Lufthansa and airport operators
The actions have met with criticism from Lufthansa and the airport operators. “I also understand our employees, the colleagues in the cabin are doing a great job, no question about it. But the strike is the wrong approach,” said Human Resources Director Michael Niggemann. Strikes do not bring a solution, “solutions can only be found at the collective bargaining table”. Lufthansa has some of the best conditions in the industry. This is also shown by the large number of applications.
From the perspective of the airport operators, the strikes are getting out of hand: “An entire country is being cut off from international air traffic. The unions have lost all measure,” said the Association of German Airports (ADV), criticizing the ongoing strikes.
“Germany as a business and tourism location is disgraced and is suffering great damage,” said ADV Managing Director Ralph Beisel. “Industrial action means a horror scenario for the affected passengers and has far-reaching consequences for individual mobility and economic processes.”
Beisel called for binding arbitration procedures and a minimum warning period before the start of the strike to be established. “Airports are part of critical infrastructure and must be protected from strike escalations.”
More flights between Frankfurt and Munich
In order to offer passengers alternatives on Wednesday, Lufthansa has, according to a spokesman, expanded its offer on the route between Frankfurt am Main and Munich at short notice. After the strikes end, some passengers will still have to expect delays and flight cancellations.
According to Munich and Frankfurt airports, passengers should contact Lufthansa to find out about flight cancellations. The flight status is updated regularly on the airport’s website.
Travelers are otherwise advised to check with their respective airlines to determine whether their flight will take place. You should plan enough time on site on Thursday and, if possible, avoid carrying hand luggage.