Almost empty terminals and unmanned security checkpoints: Hundreds of employees have largely paralyzed Hamburg Airport with a day-long warning strike. “The strike is standing,” said a spokesman for the Verdi union on Thursday. According to this, around 300 employees in the aviation security area, in passenger control, personnel and goods control and in service areas followed the call. A rally was planned for noon.
The airport criticized the action. “Almost 80,000 travelers wanted to depart or arrive here today and tomorrow – these plans have once again been thwarted by Verdi. The strike affects many bystanders who will have little alternative tomorrow due to the additional train strike,” said a spokeswoman on Thursday. A few passengers were waiting for a shuttle that was supposed to take them to Bremen or Hanover to take off from there. Some of them came back a little later annoyed because their flight did not start in Bremen either.
According to the airport, all scheduled departures were canceled on Thursday and Friday, or the machines started without passengers. Landings should continue – but around a third less. Further cancellations are also possible with the landings, and there could be significant delays. In addition, it will not be possible to check in the evening before on Friday for flights on Saturday.
305 flights with around 38,000 passengers were originally planned for Thursday and 313 flights with around 39,000 passengers for Friday. The airport expects that many passengers will rebook on connections in the following days.
The Verdi union also called on its members to walk out in Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn, as well as in Stuttgart on Friday. She demands higher time supplements for night, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday work as well as better collective bargaining arrangements for paying overtime for security and service staff. The union justified its call for a warning strike by saying that the negotiations with the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies had not led to a solution. The next negotiations are scheduled for April 27th and 28th.
Hamburg Airport website, arrivals
