Hundreds of flights cancelled as strikes hit airports | EUROtoday

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled throughout Germany as airport employees stage a nationwide strike over pay, posing a serious disruption for air travellers.

The industrial motion, led by the commerce union Verdi, started unexpectedly on Sunday at Hamburg Airport, earlier than increasing to a nationwide strike.

Passengers at Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and different main hubs have been urged to not journey to airports, with operations severely disrupted. Frankfurt, Germany’s busiest airport, mentioned passengers could be unable to board flights and switch would “almost certainly” be affected.

Verdi, which represents public sector and transport employees, is in an ongoing dispute over wages and dealing situations.

German media stories 1000’s of flights may very well be cancelled throughout the day, disrupting journey for greater than 500,000 passengers.

The Lufthansa group, whose major hub is in Frankfurt, confirmed “delays and extensive cancellations” throughout all its airways.

Meanwhile, Munich Airport warned of a “greatly reduced flight schedule”. This contains flights by Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and Swiss Air.

Katja Bromm, spokeswoman for Hamburg Airport, the place all 143 departures scheduled on Monday have already been cancelled, mentioned Verdi was “dishonourable” to name a strike with out discover initially of the vacation season.

She mentioned that Sunday’s walkouts have been “excessive and unfair to tens of thousands of travellers who have nothing to do with the disputes”.

A spokesman for Verdi accepted that the strike would have an effect on many, however mentioned the journey disruption was essential to extracting a greater pay provide.

Lars Stubbe, the union’s Hamburg consultant, instructed the BBC: “The workers are aware that disruptions do happen, and they are uncomfortable with that, but in any case, it is the employer that caused these strikes because they haven’t put a negotiable offer on the table.”

Many of Frankfurt Airport’s 1,770 scheduled flights have already been cancelled, whereas nearly all of Munich’s 820 flights are anticipated to be cancelled.

Hundreds extra cancellations are anticipated throughout Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Cologne and Berlin.

Many passengers had already checked of their baggage and have been having issues getting it returned, in keeping with public broadcaster NDR.

ADV, which represents main German airports, mentioned the strike had “almost completely paralysed air traffic”.

Verdi’s calls for embrace an 8% pay rise, or no less than €350 (£294) extra per 30 days, for all employees – and three additional days of vacation, plus one extra day for union members.

Stubbe mentioned that whereas airport wages vary have been above minimal wage, starting from €13-€25 per hour, employees in numerous roles – significantly safety employees – acquired much less annual depart than others.

“There have been two rounds of negotiations in which the employers have not yet offered one penny,” he added.

“It is quite usual that we don’t get any offers in the first round, but now even in the second round, the employers have basically said, ‘No, we’re not going to give you an offer because we don’t have any money’.”

BDLS, the physique which units safety employees’ pay, mentioned in an announcement: “The damage caused by this strike is almost exclusively to companies that are not at the negotiating table.”

It referred to as on the federal government to outlaw short-notice strikes, including that air transport was “essential for Germany as a business location” which “must not be exploited” in collective pay disputes.

Ralph Beisel, ADV’s basic supervisor, mentioned the strike was having an influence on European and world air site visitors, resulting in missed connections as a consequence of a “domino effect”.

He referred to as for reforms to German strike legal guidelines regarding “critical” infrastructure.

The so-called “warning strike”, a longtime tactic in German wage negotiations, issues two separate pay disputes: one referring to airport safety employees, and a broader disagreement over pay for federal and municipal authorities staff.

Verdi has additionally referred to as for strikes in waste assortment throughout a number of German cities, together with Berlin, Essen and Kiel, the place bins have gone unemptied since final week.

Pay talks for presidency employees are set to restart on Friday in Potsdam, whereas the following spherical of talks for airport safety employees is scheduled to start on 26 March.

Niklas Benrath, of the VKA, which regulates pay and situations for municipal employees, additionally criticised the strikes, saying Verdi’s calls for would value practically €15bn.

“With a total municipal debt of around €160bn, these demands are not financially viable,” he added.