The Verdi union is paralyzing large parts of German air traffic with a warning strike. Frankfurt, Munich and other airports are partially shutting down regular operations - with consequences not only for tens of thousands of passengers, but also for the Munich Security Conference.
A all-day warning strike by Verdi has started at several German airports. The labor dispute has begun, said a union spokesman in Hanover. The airport association ADV expects around 2,340 flights and around 295,000 affected passengers to be canceled by Friday evening. The strike in Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen sometimes starts with the night shift on Thursday from 9 or 10 p.m. and led to the first flight cancellations on Thursday evening.
At most of the affected airports, regular flight operations have come to a virtual standstill, with only individual flights or special connections taking place. In three ongoing collective bargaining disputes, Verdi has called on employees to strike at the same time in order to increase the pressure. Lufthansa will completely cease flight operations at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs on Friday and cancel a total of over 1,300 flights. Airlines and airports speak of an unprecedented escalation.
"Verdi is completely overstepping the mark here and carrying out the collective bargaining conflict on the backs of the passengers," argues the president of the aviation lobby BDL, Jost Lammers. "An entire country is to be cut off from international air traffic in an unreasonable manner," the airport association ADV also complained. The passengers would become the "plaything of the Verdi strike tactics". Verdi has called on public sector employees, ground staff and aviation security staff to go on strike.
"The employees are jointly putting pressure on the respective employers because no results have been achieved in the negotiations so far," explained Verdi deputy chairwoman Christine Behle. She advocates not only higher wages, but also better working conditions.
The trade unionist emphasized that in the 2022 holiday season, the lack of staff at airports led to long queues, massive delays and thousands of flight cancellations. "From our point of view, measures are now needed to ensure that more employees come to the airport so that the summer of '23 does not become so chaotic," said Behle.
Airlines now have to cancel flights, rebook passengers to other days or the train. Some connections could be diverted to unaffected airports. Düsseldorf Airport, for example, handles around 20 take-offs and landings for Germany's largest airport in Frankfurt. The strike also affects the Munich Security Conference, to which high-ranking politicians and diplomats from all over the world will travel on Friday.
In addition to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, many heads of government, defense and foreign ministers are expected. US Vice President Kamala Harris arrived on Thursday and was welcomed by Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder. Flights in the course of the security conference should not be affected by the strike at Munich Airport. Participants who do not travel with government planes must now find alternatives.
