Travelers in Munich must expect significant disruptions this Thursday. Because both Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Lufthansa are on strike again.
The GDL railway workers’ union has called for a strike from 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, March 7th, to 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The sticking point remains the requirement for a 35-hour week in shift work.
The first restrictions on the S-Bahn were to be expected from midnight on Thursday night, the railway announced. These will last until Friday afternoon. From 2 p.m. onwards, the railway plans to gradually be able to use more S-Bahn trains again. The lines should run every 20 minutes again by late Friday afternoon. However, line 20 and the 10-minute trains will be canceled throughout Friday.
According to DB, all S-Bahn lines should run at least every hour during the strike:
- The S1 line runs between Ostbahnhof and Freising every 60 minutes and does not go to the airport.
- The S2 line runs between Markt Schwaben and Dachau every 20 to 40 minutes, and on the other sections every hour.
- The lines S3, S4, S6 and S7 run every hour.
- The S8 line runs between Pasing and the airport every 20 minutes, between Pasing and Germering every 20 to 40 minutes and between Germering and Herrsching every 60 minutes.
- The S 20 line is no longer available.
The S-Bahn will run according to an emergency timetable during the strike.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
There would also be construction work on the main route in the night from Thursday to Friday, the railway warned and advised postponing non-essential trips to another time.
There is no train connection for long-distance travelers. Passengers can get on www.s-bahn-muenchen.de or in the Munich Navigator app via your connection and on www.s-bahn-muenchen.de/aktuell inform about the current operating situation. The GDL is also threatening subsequent strikes that are not announced 48 hours in advance so that the railway does not have time for emergency timetables.
Many flights are canceled at the airport
The Verdi union called on Lufthansa ground staff to go on strike from Thursday morning to Saturday morning. Verdi is demanding 12.5 percent more salary and at least 500 euros per month for a twelve-month contract for the approximately 25,000 employees at Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo.
Lufthansa is expecting massive flight cancellations during the two-day warning strike, especially at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. Munich Airport will remain open on Thursday and Friday, but “only ten to 20 percent of the flight program will take place” on both days of the strike, a Lufthansa spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Around 1,000 flights were originally planned in Munich for the entire period of the warning strike. According to a spokesman for the airport, around 500 of the 800 flights planned for the day will be canceled on Thursday alone. A similar rate is expected for Friday.
The warning strike by Lufthansa ground staff began in the technical areas on Wednesday evening and is scheduled to continue until Saturday morning at 7:10 a.m. Passenger flights are particularly at risk on Thursday and Friday. The cancellations have already been taken into account in the flight schedules. During the most recent strike, 448 of 790 planned flights in Munich had to be canceled.
Affected passengers will receive information about cancellations and rebooking options by email or in the Lufthansa app. Rebookings are free of charge, alternatively customers can have their tickets refunded.