Warning strikes at German airports lead to massive flight cancellations

BERLIN

A planned warning strike by the Verdi trade union caused massive disruptions at many major airports in Germany early Friday.

In the major cities of Frankfurt, Munich, Hanover, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hamburg, and Dortmund, the strike brought regular operations to a standstill, newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported.

There were also restrictions at Berlin's BER Airport, although that airport was not on strike. From the point of view of the Verdi trade union, the warning strike was successful, Verdi said on its website.

According to estimates by the German airport association ADV, just under 300,000 passengers were affected by over 2,300 flight cancellations.

With the warning strikes, Verdi wants to emphasize its wage demands in the wage dispute of the public service of the federal government and local authorities.

"If nothing happens now in terms of pay, then we will all face another chaotic summer – and we urgently need to prevent that," Christine Behle, the union's vice chair, told radio station RBB-Inforadio.

In the wage dispute, Verdi and the German civil servants' association DBB are demanding 10.5% more income, or at least €500 ($532) more, for roughly 2.5 million federal and local government employees.

The employers reject the demands. A second round of negotiations is scheduled for Feb. 22 and 23 in Potsdam. However, a new offer from the employers has not yet been made.

Lufthansa said it planned to resume air traffic as soon as possible. "We will start regular operations again immediately on Saturday," a spokesman said.

On Friday, Germany's largest airline had to cancel about 1,300 flights. Lufthansa said it has already informed passengers affected by the flight cancellations and is offering alternative connections and rebooking on trains where possible.

"We regret the enormous impact of this warning strike, which is to the detriment of our passengers. We are not involved in the collective bargaining and have no influence on it – nevertheless, our guests and we are massively affected," Lufthansa said in a statement.

Behle added on relief efforts for earthquake victims in Türkiye that relief flights to the Turkish-Syrian earthquake region would be exempted from the strike via emergency services.

In addition, relief supplies could be flown out via Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, which is not on strike. Cargo planes of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo scheduled for Friday will be allowed to take off, according to the airlines.