Frankfurt am Main: Hundreds of flights were cancelled at eight German airports on Tuesday, including at the nation’s busiest travel hub Frankfurt, as security staff walked off the job in a deepening row over pay.
Germany’s powerful Verdi union said the strike would last from 02:00 am until 8:00 pm (0100-1900 GMT) at Frankfurt airport, with walkouts in Munich, Hanover, Bremen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden and Erfurt following roughly the same schedule.
At least 220,000 travellers will be hit by cancellations and delays, the ADV airport association said, in a calculation that includes knock-on effects at other airports.
Frankfurt airport operator Fraport, which has axed 610 out of around 1,200 scheduled flights, urged passengers not to come to Europe’s fourth-busiest airport during the strike.
At Munich airport, Germany’s second largest, a spokeswoman said around 100, mainly domestic, flights were cancelled.
The coordinated industrial action marks a major escalation in Verdi’s dispute with employers, following walkouts at Berlin’s airports last Monday and in Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn and Duesseldorf last Thursday.
Germany’s flagship carrier Lufthansa accused Verdi of ramping up tensions “to an unacceptable extent”.
The ADV airport association blasted the wave of strikes as “irresponsible”.
“Verdi is unjustifiably carrying out these strikes on the backs of travellers, airlines and airports,” ADV head Ralph Beisel said in a statement.
Verdi, which represents some 23,000 aviation security workers, said it was forced to ramp up pressure because talks with the BDLS employers’ association were deadlocked.
“Employers did not respond to last week’s warning strikes at all, they haven’t come up with an improved offer,” Verdi board member Ute Kittel told public broadcaster ZDF.
The union wants to see wages raised to 20 euros ($23) per hour for workers carrying out passenger, freight, personnel and goods checks at all German airports. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
