There wasn’t much going on at German airports anymore. Due to the warning strikes by the aviation security forces, around 1,100 flights had to be canceled on Thursday – with consequences for around 200,000 passengers. There are still delays today.
A warning strike by aviation security forces thwarted the plans of thousands of passengers on Thursday. According to the airport association ADV, more than 200,000 people had to change their travel plans because around 1,100 flights were canceled due to the strike.
Even before the planned end of the strike, the ver.di union followed up at Hamburg Airport, where ground handling employees were called on a warning strike this Friday. There is a risk of numerous flight cancellations again. In addition, public buses and trains will not run in many cities on Friday because the drivers also stopped work after a call from ver.di.
At airports such as Hanover, Stuttgart, Berlin and Hamburg, all departures were canceled and landings were thinned out. According to the operators, it was very quiet in the terminals because the passengers were informed in advance. In North Rhine-Westphalia, almost the entire program for Cologne-Bonn was canceled, while 189 of 290 planned take-offs and landings could still take place in Düsseldorf.
Higher salaries for Security service provider required
Trucks were backed up at the Cologne freight hub and their loads could not be checked and processed. “The only two airports where you can fly are Munich and Nuremberg,” Lufthansa warned its guests. In total, ver.di called on employees at eleven airports to stop work in order to achieve higher salaries for the approximately 25,000 employees of private security service providers who check passengers, staff and luggage on behalf of the federal police or the airport.
In the state of Bavaria, these workers are employed in the public service, to which a different collective agreement applies. There were also take-offs from other companies on Thursday at smaller airports not served by Lufthansa. In some cases, airlines had shifted their departures to neighboring airports that were not on strike. The busiest place was at Frankfurt Airport, where, according to operator Fraport, 325 of the 1,120 flight movements planned for that day had been canceled by Thursday afternoon.
Lufthansa had announced that it would maintain the majority of its program in Frankfurt, including long-distance flights, especially for those connecting. However, you couldn’t get on at Germany’s largest airport.
There were still delays on Friday too
According to a Fraport spokesman, there were no irregularities in the transit area. Some people transferring who did not fly to Frankfurt from safe countries of origin had to be checked here. There was an agreed emergency service for this. Queues also formed at the rebooking counters in the public terminal area, even though Fraport had advised against traveling to the airport. The airport operator is expecting some delays when operations start on Friday morning because the processes have to start again and more travelers are on the move after the strike.
At a rally in front of the Frankfurt terminal, around 300 people shouted: “We are worth it – 2.80 euros.” Verdi is demanding this hourly wage increase across the board with overtime bonuses starting more quickly from the first hour of overtime. “I think this is a clear sign of a reasonable conclusion next week,” said ver.di secretary Mathias Venema. Then no one would ask why the republic was being paralyzed. However, if no collective agreement is reached, “we’ll just have to do it again,” said the trade unionist.
Next round of negotiations on February 6th
According to their own information, employers from the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) have offered four percent more money for this year and three percent more money for next year. The strike was completely inappropriate, said BDLS negotiator Frank Haindl. There is a debatable offer on the table. Both sides also have to talk about key points of an arbitration agreement – in the event that there is no solution at the negotiating table, said Haindl. It must be prevented that there are widespread strikes like those at Deutsche Bahn. Negotiations are scheduled to continue on February 6th.