At the airports in Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn, passengers will again have to adjust to noticeable disabilities over the next few days. The Verdi union called on employees in aviation security, passenger control, personnel and goods control and in the service areas of the three airports to go on all-day warning strikes for Thursday and Friday. “In connection with the strike, longer waiting times up to and including flight cancellations or cancellations are to be expected,” Verdi warned on Tuesday. The aviation industry criticized the renewed strike.
Hamburg Airport announced that all departures would be canceled due to the warning strike on Thursday and Friday. According to the current status, 152 departures on Thursday and 156 on Friday would have to be canceled or take place without passengers. Landings are still possible. However, flight cancellations and delays must also be expected on arrivals. A total of almost 80,000 passengers were affected on both days in Hamburg.
That’s what the negotiations are about
The background to the warning strikes are the negotiations between Verdi and the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) about time supplements for night, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday work as well as better collective bargaining regulations for overtime pay for security and service staff at commercial airports. The union emphasized that a written offer from the BDLS was insufficient and could not be agreed upon. Negotiations are scheduled to continue on April 27th and 28th.
The Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL) criticized that the ongoing succession of strikes at various airports in Germany had nothing to do with warning strikes. “With the renewed strikes, the unions are making the intensive preparations for summer travel more difficult,” said BDL general manager Matthias von Randow. “The victims are the travelers and also our companies, who are now committed to smooth flight operations again after the pandemic-related travel restrictions,” von Randow continued.
Strike every eleventh day on average
According to the BDL, in the first three months of this year alone there was a strike at an airport on around every eleventh day. Because of the widespread strike on March 26 and 27, 2023, around 3,500 flights had to be canceled on those two days. This means that the number of canceled flights due to strikes this year already significantly exceeds the number of canceled flights in the whole of 2019. At that time there were 3,300 flights throughout the year that, according to the BDL, could not take place due to strikes.
