Airport strikes in Germany hit domestic flights
Airport strikes in Germany have led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights today, but international flights appear not to have been affected.
German airline Lufthansa said there have been 300 flight cancellations today. At Frankfurt airport, which is the third busiest airport in Europe, around 1,000 staff including check in staff, baggage handlers and firefighters, are believed to be taking part in the strike.
Flights have also been cancelled at Munich airport, the second largest airport in Germany. Around 100 flights are believed to have been grounded there this morning. The airport strike has also spread to other airports in Germany, including Cologne-Bonn, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Nuremberg, and Stuttgart.
In a statement this afternoon Lufthansa said: “Industrial action forced Lufthansa to cancel 300 of its 1,850 flights scheduled for today. About 18,500 passengers were affected by the cancellations. Most of them, however, were rebooked on other flights or found alternative means of transport. All Lufthansa’s long-haul flights were operated as scheduled”. Lufthansa says it now expects operations to “gradually return to normal”.
The airport strike is part of a series of strikes by public service workers in Germany who are members of the verdi union. The union has asked for a pay rise of 8% for its 1.3 million members but the German government has only offered 5% over two years plus a longer working week.
A separate strike in Berlin also involving the verdi union is causing travel chaos on the city’s subway, buses and trams. The strike is expected to last for 10 days. The strike has started on the same day that one of the biggest travel exhibitions – ITB Berlin – begins.
There could be more travel misery in Germany next week, as train drivers are also threatening to strike over a pay dispute.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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