Friday, February 17, 2023, 08:13
The 24-hour strike of ground and air security personnel at seven airports called by the Ver.di services union paralyzes practically all air traffic in Germany this Friday to demand strong wage increases to compensate for high inflation and high cost of living. The actions affect the two major air nodes in the country, Frankfurt and Munich, as well as Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Bremen and Dortmund, which together transport two thirds of the country’s air passengers.
The strikers demand in the negotiations with the employer wage increases of 10.5% for the next 12 months or, at least, 500 euros more per month. The stoppages take place when official talks between unions and companies for public services, ground handling services and aviation safety, which are protesting jointly, have not yet begun. The German airline association ADV calculates that the strike will affect some 300,000 passengers and 2,340 flights.
The German airline Lufthansa, the largest in Europe, has suspended all its flights in Frankfurt and Munich, in total more than 1,300 operations. The airline notified its passengers days ago, asking them to find alternatives to domestic flights with the use of the railway and offered to change tickets to other days. “We regret that the strike is taking place at the expense of our passengers,” Lufthansa said in a statement. The company expects its air planning to normalize this Saturday.
The vice president of the Ver.di union, Christine Behle, stressed that extraordinary flights with aid for those affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria will not be affected by the strike. Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines air cargo aircraft that plan to take off from different German airfields will be able to do so without difficulty. The strike coincides with the start of the Security Conference in Munich. The organizers of the strike indicated that the participants in the strike who plan to go on special flights will be able to land in the Bavarian capital.
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