Security personnel staged walkouts at several airports across Germany yesterday (Tuesday, March 15), disrupting air travel.
The personnel are demanding higher wages – the union, Verdi, is negotiating with the employers’ association for a new agreement for about 25 000 security staff nationwide.
Yesterday was the second day of the collective wage dispute.
As the strikes spread across the country, the German Board of Airline Representatives (BARIG) Secretary General, Michael Hoppe, said the action was taken at the expense of uninvolved third parties, and he noted the consequences for tens of thousands of passengers – flight cancellations and massive delays. “Moreover, it causes immense damage to air traffic in Germany, especially at a time when initial signs of recovery after many months of the pandemic crisis finally had been noticed,” he said.
Yesterday, many flights were cancelled at Frankfurt Airport because of the industrial action. At 02h00, employees in cargo and passenger control at the airport, Germany’s largest, stopped working.
Only passengers with layovers were able to go through security checks and airport operator, Fraport, called on all travellers hoping to board, not to travel to the airport.
Employees at Hamburg, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airports also walked out of their jobs.
In Munich, Germany’s second-largest airport, a walkout has been under way since Monday afternoon.
Other airports, including Berlin, Düsseldorf and Hanover, cancelled dozens of flights on Monday due to one-day strikes.
