Aviation security forces are on warning strike at many German airports today. This gives some frequent flyers creative ideas to get around the strike.
by Marieke Einbrodt
Most passengers today only take to the air emotionally, rather than actually in the literal sense: the Verdi union has called for a nationwide warning strike in aviation security. Around 25,000 employees at eleven German airports are to stop working. The warning strike for higher wages began in the early hours of the morning and is expected to last until midnight. Airlines warned of flight cancellations and delays due to strikes.
The airports affected are Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart. This is likely to paralyze air traffic in large parts of Germany. The striking aviation security employees usually check passengers, luggage and other staff. Without them, security checks come to a standstill.
In the collective bargaining dispute, the Verdi union is demanding 2.80 euros more wages per hour, higher functional allowances and surcharges for overtime from the first hour of overtime. The new collective agreement should run for twelve months. These demands go too far for employers.
Strike affects business travelers and vacationers
The strike affects frequent flyers and holiday travelers alike. Many are annoyed by the next strike, after farmers and GDL train drivers have already rehearsed the strike. “There’s always something,” complains one travel forum user. In the online forum “Frequent Flyer Meeting”, passengers ask for legal advice from those who have already been stranded at airports due to strikes.
Can you rebook straight away or is it better to wait until the originally booked flight is canceled? No matter, rebooking isn’t that easy anyway, some mile collectors report and complain about the hotline for premium customers. They were only able to book an alternative after hours in the queue; some of the service employees had not yet known about the strike.
Frequent flyer “Chrini1” doesn’t even bother with the stress and prefers to worry before rather than after: With a few miles, he booked himself on a Friday flight in addition to his flight ticket for Thursday – as a reserve. The only question that remains is how to get to the airport if the buses and trains go on strike on Friday.
Frequent flyers find privatization problematic
A forum member suggests flying around the strike via Munich. There is no strike there because the employees are subject to the collective agreement for the public service and there is currently an obligation to keep peace. Conclusion of a forum user: “Never privatize sovereign tasks.” “Outsourcing and functional privatization, the magic words of the 90s,” are also suddenly hitting back for the “Long Haul” member. One user uses Zurich Airport as a positive example. The cantonal police carry out the security checks there: “It runs like clockwork.”
Others find clear words for their anger: All the strikes have turned Germany into a “banana republic,” says one member indignantly. “The main drivers are always the customers” and the companies themselves don’t care whether there is a strike or not.
Linkedin: Private jets as an alternative?
Frequent flyer forum member “Nerd” is also concerned about the recovery of some holidaymakers and asks whether airlines would also rebook the return flight free of charge if the outbound flight was postponed during the holiday due to a strike and the holiday was therefore shorter. Nobody knows the answer, but user “Beppo” is advised to move their planned weekend trip to Scotland to the summer, as it would probably be much more pleasant there.
Whether the sun is currently shining at the destination of a business trip or holiday trip or not, the strike is “great for the climate,” says X user “Sparta”. For others, the strike is, above all, great for business: providers of private charter flights are already getting their planes into position, at the LinkedIn career network and on the tarmac.
Passengers have these rights
According to the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center, it is complicated for passengers if they miss their flight due to failed security checks. While the airline is liable for striking pilots or airline crew, the federal police are responsible for safety checks – which often outsource these to private companies. The airlines have no influence on delays in controls – passengers can then only assert possible claims against the state.
This article appeared firstwhich, like stern, is part of RTL Deutschland.
Source: Stern
