After the strike announced by the Verdi union, Frankfurt Airport will cease regular passenger operations on Friday. This was announced by Germany’s largest airport on Wednesday evening. Regular operation will not be possible on Friday because of the warning strike, said a spokeswoman for the Fraport operating company. Emergency flights are excluded.
In Frankfurt, 1005 flight movements were planned for Friday, the Fraport spokeswoman said. The operating company spoke of 137,000 affected passengers. She called on passengers not to come to the airport in the first place and to get information from their airline.
“Regular airport operations cannot be guaranteed,” Fraport’s website said. “Passengers who want to start their journey in Frankfurt cannot catch their flight.” Transfer traffic is also affected.
The Verdi union had called for all-day warning strikes at seven German airports on Friday. With the work stoppages in Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen, Verdi wants to increase the pressure in the wage dispute in the public sector. The warning strike is scheduled to begin early Friday morning and end on Saturday night. Munich and Hamburg airports had also announced that they would suspend regular passenger operations on Friday.
In addition to the public service, there are local negotiations for ground handling services and a nationwide round of collective bargaining for aviation security. Aid deliveries to the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria should be exempt from the warning strike.
In the negotiations, Verdi and the civil servants’ association DBB are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more for the approximately 2.5 million employees. The term should be twelve months. The employers have rejected the claims. The second round of negotiations is scheduled for February 22nd and 23rd in Potsdam.
Already on Wednesday there were delays and cancellations for tens of thousands of passengers with connections via the Frankfurt hub. A cable damage on a Frankfurt S-Bahn line had led to a failure of the computer systems at Lufthansa. At the Frankfurt hub, 242 of around 1,000 planned flights were canceled by the early evening. Passengers were asked to transfer to the train.
