Strikes attacked airports, hundreds of flights cancelled

Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Germany as airport workers went on strike nationwide, causing significant damage to air travelers.

Industrial action led by union Verdi started unexpectedly at Hamburg Airport on Sunday before expanding to a nationwide strike.

Passengers in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and other major hubs are urging to not go to the airport and operations are severely disrupted. Frankfurt, Germany’s busiest airport, said passengers will be unable to board the plane and the transfer is “almost certainly” affected.

Verdi, representing the public sector and transport workers, is in constant dispute over wages and working conditions.

German media reported that thousands of flights could be cancelled throughout the day, which ruined the travel of 500,000 passengers.

Lufthansa’s main hub is in Frankfurt, confirming “delays and widespread cancellations” for all its airlines, while Munich Airport warned that it “significantly reduced flight schedules”.

Hamburg Airport spokesman Katja Bromm, who had all 143 departures scheduled for Monday, said Verdi called the strike at the start of the holiday without notice.

She said Sunday’s strike was “overly and unfair to tens of thousands of travelers who had no disputes”.

A spokesman for Verdi accepted the strike would affect many people, but told German media that causing interference was a necessary condition to extract better offers from employers.

Many of the 1,770 scheduled flights at Frankfurt Airport have been cancelled, while most of the 820 flights in Munich are expected to be cancelled.

Hundreds of cancellations are expected in Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Berlin.

According to public broadcaster NDR, many passengers have checked their luggage and have encountered problems. It also reported that the strike had stalled air traffic at Hanover Airport.

In addition to the airport, Verdi also called for a waste collection strike in several German cities, including Berlin, Essen and Kiel, and the bins have been useless since last week.

The union requires airport workers to increase their salary by 8% or at least €350 per month, as well as higher bonuses and additional rest time. So far, it is unbearable for employers to reject these requirements.

The news agency DPA quoted a Verdi spokesman as saying that further strikes are expected this week in facilities operated by federal government and local authorities.

The next round of talks will be held in Potsdam on Friday.