At eight airports, the Verdi union has called on security check staff to stop working. Passengers must expect cancellations and long waiting times. Only transfers are possible in Frankfurt.
Hundreds of connections at German airports were canceled on Tuesday morning due to a warning strike by security personnel. In Hamburg, all departures were canceled because the passenger controls remain closed all day. Air traffic is very restricted at the capital’s BER airport, said a representative of the Verdi union in the morning. Frankfurt Airport, the largest in Germany, called on all passengers not to arrive as they cannot catch their flights due to the lack of controls. However, transfer connections should be possible at the most important German hub.
So far, 108 connections have been canceled in Frankfurt and 140 in Düsseldorf – that’s more than half of all flights planned there. At least 145 flights were canceled in Berlin this Tuesday, and all 88 departures and 31 arrivals in Hamburg were canceled. In addition, Bremen, Hanover, Stuttgart and Cologne/Bonn are to be on strike. Therefore, not only cancellations are to be expected there, but also delays and long waiting times.
The strike is a day-long and almost nationwide warning strike, to which the Verdi trade union has called on private security forces at eight German airports. 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. The demands to adjust wages regionally and to standardize wage groups could become more expensive. According to employers, this could mean up to 40 percent more salary for individual employees.
Last week, Verdi had already carried out all-day warning strikes at several airports, which led to protests at airports and airlines.