Status: 02/17/2023 4:49 p.m
Only twelve instead of 1005 flights in Frankfurt, zero instead of 253 in Hamburg: The effects of the ver.di warning strikes are massive. But almost all passengers had been informed in good time, which is why the terminals were “swept empty”.
Hours before the end of the warning strikes at seven German airports, one thing is clear: the effects are massive. This can be well illustrated by the figures from the largest German airport. In Frankfurt am Main, 1005 take-offs and landings were originally planned for today. In fact, there are twelve flight movements in the plan, said a spokesman for the operator Fraport.
It is exclusively about relief and emergency flights, which were handled via a special agreement with the trade union ver.di. These included two Lufthansa Cargo relief flights to the Turkish earthquake area.
However, there was no chaos at Frankfurt Airport. Because of the early warnings, very few passengers had come to the airport. The picture is similar at the other six airports in Munich, BremenDortmund, Hamburg, Hanover and Stuttgart. There, too, flight operations came to a virtual standstill.
“There are definitely no take-offs and landings,” said a spokeswoman for Hamburg Airport, where there should actually be 253 take-offs and landings during the day. The terminals were “swept empty”.
Exception for flights to Turkey
Only a few flights to Turkey started in Hanover. According to the airport operator, there was also a special agreement with ver.di here. On these flights were “both relief supplies for the crisis area in Turkey and passengers who want to fly to the crisis areas for support and assistance and attend funerals”.
In Munich, the airport made an exception to the suspended flight operations for the guests of the Munich Security Conference (MSC). “All private flights registered for the MSC will be accepted and processed,” said an airport spokesman. The Munich Security Conference is considered one of the most important meetings of politicians and experts on security policy worldwide. A total of 40 heads of state and government and almost 100 ministers are expected.
The airlines had advised their customers to switch to the train if possible. On its website, Deutsche Bahn indicated an “extraordinarily high utilization” for many connections – for example between Munich and Hamburg or Frankfurt am Main and Berlin.
Ver.di warns of chaos in the summer holidays
Even at non-strike airports, such as Berlin, there were some restrictions as a result of the warning strikes – because there are many connections to the major hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. Ver.di spoke in the morning of a very successful start of the warning strike. According to estimates by the airport association ADV, almost 300,000 passengers are affected by the flight cancellations.
The warning strike is scheduled to end at midnight. With the exception of Hanover, there is a night flight ban at all affected airports. In Hanover, regular operations are to start again immediately after the end of the warning strike, in Frankfurt on Saturday at 5 a.m. and at the other four airports from 6 a.m. The airports are expecting a heavy rush because airlines are rebooking some passengers. According to the airport spokesman, companies in Frankfurt and Munich wanted to use larger aircraft, among other things, and sometimes also offer additional flights. Munich Airport advised travelers to plan a sufficient “time buffer”.
According to ver.di, the current collective bargaining dispute is not just about money, but also about better working conditions. If the conditions don’t improve, a handling chaos like last year can hardly be avoided, warns ver.di Vice President Christine Behle. “We have a catastrophic labor shortage.” The staff shortage had led to queues, delays and thousands of flight cancellations in 2022. With a view to the still lack of staff, Lufthansa has already announced that it will thin out its flight offer for the summer of 2023.
“We have never had such an escalation”
Airlines and airports criticized the labor dispute as excessive. “When we look into the airport terminals this morning, it reminds us more of the worst days of Corona and less of a warning strike,” said ADV CEO Ralph Beisel Bavarian radio. “We really haven’t had such an escalation through strike action.”
Employees from ground handling services, security checks, passenger handling, repairs or the airport fire brigade went on strike.
With the all-day warning strike, Ver.di wants to put pressure on the ongoing collective bargaining for the public sector at federal and local level. At the same time, however, employees of aviation security and ground handling services who are not part of the public service are also on strike. Nationwide and, in some cases, local wage negotiations are being conducted here at the same time.