cancellations and delays
Security forces’ warning strike paralyzes German airports
Gaping emptiness at Hamburg Airport on Tuesday morning: due to the warning strike, the security check for passengers will remain closed throughout the day.
© Daniel Bockwoldt / DPA
Passengers are once again required to be patient. The Verdi trade union is covering German airports with a wave of warning strikes in order to assert the interests of the security forces.
Flight cancellations, delays and long waiting times threaten passengers on Tuesday at eight German airports. The Verdi union has called on private security forces to go on a day-long and almost nationwide warning strike.
At the largest German airport in Frankfurt, passengers will again not be able to board due to a lack of controls, as the operator Fraport has announced. An emergency service has been set up for emergencies and transfer passengers.
In addition, Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn are to be struck. The airports expect significant restrictions on air traffic, but have not yet been able to name an exact number of cancellations. “We recommend travelers to check the flight status with the airline before driving to the airport,” said a spokeswoman for Stuttgart Airport.
Warning strike is a nightmare scenario for passengers
The airport association ADV is uncomprehending to the warning strikes. “The collective bargaining partners belong at the negotiating table, right away. The short-term industrial action means a horror scenario for the passengers, who have no way of preparing for the flight cancellations. The good image of Germany as a travel destination is being damaged at a time when the airports hit by the corona-related losses are just bottoming out of the crisis,” explains ADV CEO Ralph Beisel.
Air accident statistics 2021: These are the 15 safest airlines in the world
15 images
Last week, Verdi had already carried out all-day warning strikes at several airports, which led to protests at airports and airlines. The background to this is the collective bargaining that Verdi is conducting with the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies. A fifth round is scheduled for Thursday in Raunheim near Frankfurt.
The security checks are under the supervision of the Federal Police and are largely outsourced to private service providers. Only in Bavaria are inspectors paid according to the collective agreement for the public service and therefore do not go on strike.
Verdi is calling for wages in aviation security services to be increased by at least one euro per hour. Regional adjustments and unified collective bargaining groups could become much more expensive, which, according to employers, would bring up to 40 percent more salary for individual employees.