Warning strikes at airports – the most important things in brief
- are for Friday warning strikes announced at numerous airports in Germany. These include Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Hanover, Bremen and Leipzig. They are scheduled to begin early Friday morning and end on Saturday night.
- Air travelers have to be prepared for massive disabilities: It’s coming delays, cancellations and the partial standstill of air traffic. thousands flight cancellations are expected.
- Stuttgart Airport also canceled aid flights to Turkey
- Lufthansa informs that on the day of the strike “a large part” of its flights are expected to be affected by the strike.
Thursday February 16th
Warning strike at airports: what can affected passengers do?
Depending on the destination and time, it varies what affected passengers can do during the warning strike. For short distances, Deutsche Bahn is an alternative, which according to its own statements expects a high number of passengers. For longer distances, you must rebook with the airline. Connections from other cities are only available to a limited extent, as the seven airports affected account for almost two-thirds of German passenger traffic. With Frankfurt and Munich, the two largest hubs with a particularly large number of destinations will also be closed. Like other companies, the Lufthansa Group is planning normal operations again on Saturday.
Guests at the Munich Security Conference affected by strikes at airports
The guests at the Munich Security Conference are also affected by the warning strike and will have to rebook if they want to arrive on a scheduled flight via Munich Airport on Friday. An airport spokesman said private flights related to the conference would be accepted. Government flights are also covered by the emergency service agreement with Verdi. More than 50 private flights to the security conference are expected on Friday.
Verdi on joint strike: Airports and passengers alike relieved
According to the Verdi trade union, the joint airport strike of several professional groups relieves the airports and passengers. Three different collective agreements are being negotiated, explained Verdi Vice-President Christine Behle on Thursday. The union has called public sector, local ground handling and aviation security workers at several airports for a day-long warning strike on Friday. “For the airports, going on strike with all of them together on one day means that they only have to adapt to this one day and do not have to strike on different days.”
The passengers, whose understanding is hoped for, would also have to look for alternative options that day, but not on three different days, said Behle. The trade unionist defended the all-day warning strike. “The employees, who are often precariously employed at the airports in particular, now need signs from their employers that they are moving, and above all they need significantly more money quickly – because now their refrigerators have to be filled, rents have to be paid and extremely to settle increased energy costs.” A ballot was not carried out because the negotiations had not yet failed.
Warning strike in Stuttgart: No aid flights to Turkey on Friday
Contrary to what was announced by the Verdi union, no flights to the disaster area in Turkey will depart from Stuttgart Airport on Friday. “There will be no passenger flights and no cargo flights either,” said a spokeswoman on Thursday. The union had previously announced that it would allow ten flights with relief supplies and relatives to Turkey as part of an emergency service agreement. Air traffic control should be staffed with emergency switches.
According to the airport spokeswoman, only military flights, security landings or medical flights – such as urgent organ donations – are possible on Friday. Because of the Verdi warning strike, 162 flights in Stuttgart alone were canceled on Friday. Around 20,000 people are affected. The airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg had also announced that they would suspend regular passenger operations on Friday. The airport association ADV expects a total of 2,340 flight cancellations at seven German airports due to the Verdi warning strike.
Verdi calls for a warning strike at Leipzig Airport
The Verdi union has called for a warning strike at Leipzig Airport. As a spokesman announced, the employees in the airport security area should stop working from Thursday, 3 p.m. The warning strike will last until 6 a.m. on Saturday. According to an airport spokesman, the effects on air traffic are still unclear. Verdi pointed out that aid deliveries that go out into the world from Leipzig/Halle are not affected by the strike measures. Work is also to be stopped at larger airports such as Frankfurt or Munich on Friday.
56 flights at BER affected by warning strikes on Friday
At Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, 28 flights to Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart have been canceled for Friday due to the announced warning strikes. In addition, 28 arrivals from the three cities are canceled, as was shown on the airport’s website on Thursday. As the airport announced, no further impairments due to the work stoppages are to be expected. No strikes have been announced at BER itself. The cancellations are 13 flights to Frankfurt, 10 to Munich and 5 to Stuttgart – and just as many arrivals from these cities.
Aviation security company criticizes Verdi strike: Incomprehensible
Before the Verdi strike planned for Friday at seven German airports, employers in the aviation security industry criticized the walkout. The association BDLS defended itself against the union strategy that its negotiations with those of the public service and the ground handling services are amalgamated. “Verdi is working together with several other trades, and so the goals and boundaries of the strike are blurred for outsiders. This is deliberately exploited in this way,” said BDLS negotiator Rainer Friebertshäuser on Thursday.
Aviation security is not about higher wages, but about secondary issues such as time bonuses and executive allowances. With the conclusion of 2022, far above-average increases in income of up to 28.2 percent were agreed for the passenger and luggage inspectors, which will come into effect in two stages this year. It is also wrong that the BDLS has not moved on the open issues.
In any case, strikes come “absolutely at the wrong time,” said Friebertshäuser. Verdi should have refrained from the strike for humanitarian reasons because urgently needed relief supplies could not be brought to the Turkish earthquake area. “From a human point of view, this is catastrophic and no longer a warning strike.”
Verdi Vice President Christine Behle had declared that aid flights to Turkey and Syria would be exempted from the strike. In addition, aid supplies could be flown out via Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, which is not under strike. However, an unknown number of passenger flights, which could have transported relief goods as additional cargo, are also canceled at the seven airports affected by the strike. According to the airline, a Turkish Airlines freighter scheduled for Friday from Frankfurt to Istanbul should be allowed to take off.
hacker attack? Several websites from German airports cannot be used
The websites of various German airports are disrupted. Nuremberg Airport suspects that it is a hacker attack, in which the site receives so many inquiries that it collapses.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf and Dortmund were temporarily affected. Debugging is still going on there. The Erfurt-Weimar Airport website has been shut down. The Internet provider is checking whether it is a hacker attack, said a spokesman. Effects on air traffic as a whole were not initially known.
Frankfurt Airport: Regulated operation after Lufthansa chaos
After the Lufthansa flight chaos caused by a breakdown during construction work, operations at Frankfurt Airport started normally on Thursday. There is regular operation, said a spokesman for the operating company Fraport on Thursday morning. Minor delays are only due to fog.
According to the company, the Lufthansa problems were triggered on Wednesday by work on an S-Bahn line in Frankfurt. According to Deutsche Telekom, fiber optic cables were severed by an excavator on Tuesday. Thousands of passengers with connections via the Frankfurt hub were affected by delays and cancellations. Frankfurt Airport was closed for around three hours on Wednesday and released again for landings in the early afternoon.
Berlinale boss: Effects of the airport warning strike still unclear
The fact that several German airports are to be on strike on Friday may also pose challenges for the Berlinale festival management. The airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart and Hamburg had announced that they would stop regular passenger operations that day. There were also computer problems at Lufthansa on Wednesday. When asked what effects this would have on the guest list, managing director Mariette Rissenbeek said on Thursday morning on rbb Inforadio: “Of course I can’t assess that exactly yet.”
Her guest department will work furiously to find other solutions, said Rissenbeek. Perhaps guests would have to switch to other airports and then train connections would have to be considered. “It’s a big challenge, I don’t want to hide it now.” But the guests who are needed on Friday are already there? “Yes, they are already here.”
Wednesday February 15th
BER: Warning strike on Friday could affect 28 departures
The warning strike could also have indirect consequences for Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER). From a total of 220 departures, 28 departures to Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart could be affected by possible cancellations, said an airport spokeswoman on Wednesday. Passengers should find out about their flights in advance.
Airport Association: More than 295,000 air travelers affected by warning strikes
In view of the warning strike, the airport association ADV expects 2,340 cancellations in domestic and international air traffic. “The fact that more than 295,000 air travelers suffered from the conflict on Friday is not reasonable. Solutions must be found at the negotiating table and not on the backs of the passengers,” said Ralph Beisel, General Manager of the ADV. The passengers would become a pawn in the Verdi strike tactics.
In Frankfurt alone, 1005 flight movements were planned for Friday, said a spokeswoman for the operator Fraport. 137,000 passengers were affected. According to the airport, 162 flights and around 20,000 passengers are affected by the warning strike in Stuttgart. Munich Airport spoke of more than 700 affected take-offs and landings, according to an airport spokeswoman, around 32,000 passengers are affected in Hamburg.
Lufthansa: More than 1000 flights will be canceled on Friday
As of Wednesday evening, Lufthansa is canceling around 1,200 flights at Frankfurt and Munich airports, as a Lufthansa spokesman said. The number will increase, since not only these two airports are affected by the warning strike. Customers would be informed.
Transfer traffic in Frankfurt was also affected by the warning strike
According to the Frankfurt airport operator Fraport, transfer traffic will also be affected by the warning strike and cannot be processed. Against this background, passengers are “urgently” asked not to travel to the airport.
Warning strikes at airports: that’s what Verdi and dbb are demanding
Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more for the approximately 2.5 million employees of the federal and local governments. The term should be twelve months. The employers have rejected the claims. The second round of negotiations is scheduled for February 22nd and 23rd in Potsdam.
