Hundreds of flights cancelled as strikes hit airports

Hundreds of flights have been canceled throughout Germany, with airport workers being paid nationwide and causing great confusion for aviation travelers.

Industrial actions led by trade union Verdi began unexpectedly at Hamburg Airport on Sunday.

Passengers from Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and other hubs urged not to travel to the airport. Frankfurt, the busiest airport in Germany, said that passengers could not be on board, and the transfer would be “almost”.

Verdi, which represents the public sector and transport workers, is in a dispute over wages and working conditions.

According to the German media, thousands of flights can be canceled all day and interfere with more than 500,000 passengers.

The Lufthansa Group in Frankfurt, the main hub, confirmed all airlines “delay and extensive cancellation.”

Munich airport, meanwhile, warned that “the flight schedule has been greatly reduced.” This includes a flight from Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and Swiss Airlines.

Katja Bromm, a spokesman for HAMBURG airport, has already canceled 143 departures scheduled on Monday, Verdi said it could cause a strike without notification at the start of the vacation season.

She said that the Sunday strike is “excessive and unfair for tens of thousands of travelers who are not related to conflict.”

A spokesman for Verdi admitted that the strike would have a lot of impact, but he said it was necessary to stop traveling to extract better salary proposals.

Lars Stubbe, president of Hamburg, told the BBC as follows. “Workers know that they are confused, and they know that they are uncomfortable, but anyway, the employer is the employer.”

Many of the 1,770 reservation flights at Frankfurt Airport have already been canceled, and most of the 820 Munich’s 820 films are expected to be canceled.

Hundreds of more cancellations are expected in Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, COLOGNE and Berlin.

According to the public broadcaster NDR, many passengers have already checked their luggage and have a problem with returning. The strike also stopped the air traffic at Hannover Airport.

Verdi’s demands include an 8%wage increase for all workers, or at least 350 euros per month, 3 days for vacation, and one day for union members.

Stubbe said the airport wage has exceeded the minimum wage, but the € 13-€ 25 (£ 11-£ 21) range is less than the other roles, especially security employees.

“There were two negotiations that the employer has not yet provided one penny,” he added.

“It’s very common that we don’t receive any suggestions in the first round, but even in the second round, employers will basically say, ‘No, we won’t make a suggestion because we don’t have money.’

The so -called “warning strike”, a tactic established of the German wage negotiations, relates to two separate wage disputes related to airport security workers and a greater inconsistency against the payment of federation and local governments.

Verdi also demanded a strike in several German cities, including BINS, which BINS has been empty since last week.

Payment talks for civil servants will be restarted at Potsdam on Friday, and the next talks for airport security employees will begin on March 26.