Tens of thousands of passengers have once again had to postpone their travel plans because of warning strikes. Around 580 flights were canceled at Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart airports on Friday after the Verdi union called for a strike, according to the airports. Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, which was also on strike, reported normal flight operations. According to the airport association ADV, more than 76,000 passengers were affected by the cancellations.
The background is negotiations on payment in the aviation security industry and the wage dispute in the public sector. On Monday, employees at the airports in Hamburg, Hanover and Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) stopped working.
Stuttgart Airport ceases flight operations
According to the company, almost all passenger flights have been canceled at Cologne/Bonn Airport: Of the 148 take-offs and landings originally planned, 144 were not to take place. Two thirds of the flights originally planned at Düsseldorf Airport were cancelled. Of the originally planned 391 take-offs and landings, 264 were affected. Stuttgart Airport stopped flight operations, which affected 169 flight movements.
Verdi was satisfied with the participation in the strike. According to the union, around 500 employees were on strike in Düsseldorf alone, and one official in Stuttgart expected around 700 strikers. At Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, on the other hand, scabs from other companies maintained flight operations, Verdi said.
Stuttgart Airport expects normal operations again on Saturday. To be on the safe side, passengers should check the status of their flight in advance, an airport spokeswoman recommended. Occasionally it can happen that a machine is not yet at the airport as planned or that crews still have to be reassigned.
The airport association ADV criticized the work stoppages. “Such defaults bring with them massive follow-up problems,” stressed General Manager Ralph Beisel. “Not only passengers are being held hostage by escalating warning strikes. The fact that airlines and airports are just recovering from the deepest crisis in aviation is completely ignored.” The duration and scope of the strike are disproportionate.
