Hundreds of flight cancellations at Lufthansa, closed security entrances to Hamburg and Frankfurt airports. Large parts of German air traffic are paralyzed. Some actions came as a surprise.
Warning strikes at several German airports have led to numerous flight cancellations since Thursday morning. The next warning strike by ground staff has begun at Germany’s largest airline, Lufthansa; it should last until Saturday morning (7:10 a.m.). In addition, aviation security controllers stopped work at several airports. Lufthansa wants to fly 10 to 20 percent of its original flight schedule during the warning strike.
Passengers are only able to change to trains to a limited extent: Deutsche Bahn’s passenger train drivers have been on strike for 35 hours since Thursday morning.
According to the Verdi union at Frankfurt Airport, the Lufthansa strike got off to a very successful start. No passengers can check in at the airport because security checks are also on strike. Only changing from one aircraft to the other is possible – Lufthansa is flying an emergency program. Control staff also stopped work in Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn. At the two NRW airports, the industrial action began without notice – so the airport and its partners were unable to prepare for it.
All passengers who have planned a flight from Düsseldorf for Thursday are asked to check their flight status with the airlines or tour operators before their arrival, according to the airport. In Cologne/Bonn, freight traffic in particular will be hit hard; passenger flights will not be affected.
Hundreds at strike meeting
Several hundred strikers gathered in a parking lot at Frankfurt Airport on Thursday morning for a rally. “Our wages should also take off,” read a poster attached to the stage. “We are worth it,” said a banner on the building diagonally across the street. “The ‘good soil’ is history once and for all,” exclaimed one speaker enthusiastically. After the rally, a demonstration was planned at the Lufthansa building, where the company’s annual press conference took place.
In the very quiet arrival hall of Frankfurt Terminal 1, the stranded passengers had to help themselves. The couple Susana and Alexander Gerlach from Düsseldorf were stuck at the airport after arriving from Brazil. “The day before yesterday we received information from Lufthansa that our connecting flight had been canceled,” said Susana Gerlach. A train to Düsseldorf is not running because of the train drivers’ strike, the rental cars are all fully booked, and now a friend will pick them up in her car. “She already called and said she was stuck in a traffic jam,” her husband added.
Lufthansa’s technical departments had already gone on what is now the fifth wave of warning strikes on Wednesday evening, which was extended to the passenger areas in the terminal in the morning. In this way, Verdi wants to force greater concessions from management in the ongoing collective bargaining for around 25,000 ground staff. The negotiations with private aviation security companies also involve around 25,000 people.
The impairments by region
Frankfurt: At Frankfurt Airport, no passengers wanting to depart from Frankfurt came into the security area of the airport due to the lack of security checks. Takeoffs and landings still take place, so at least transit guests were able to change. Getting off in Frankfurt is also possible.
Munich: Munich Airport is expected to remain open on Thursday and Friday despite the warning strike by ground staff, but many flight cancellations are expected. According to the airport, around 500 of 800 flights will be canceled on Thursday.
Stuttgart: Four Lufthansa flights to and from Munich and Frankfurt were canceled at Stuttgart Airport due to the warning strike on Thursday, an airport spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
Berlin: According to the flight schedule, there will also be many cancellations of Lufthansa flights to and from Munich and Frankfurt on Thursday and Friday at the capital’s BER airport.
Hamburg: The airport operator has canceled all 141 departures for Thursday. According to the airport, 15 Lufthansa arrivals and departures were canceled for Friday.
Düsseldorf: At Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports, almost all Lufthansa connections were canceled due to the Verdi warning strike, and 13 other flights were canceled due to the unannounced strike by security staff.
Further strikes possible – including among the flight attendants
In the ongoing collective bargaining dispute at Lufthansa, Verdi is demanding 12.5 percent more salary, but at least 500 euros per month for a term of twelve months. There will also be a group-wide uniform inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros. Lufthansa refers to past wage increases and has so far offered 10 percent more salary and an inflation compensation bonus for a period of 28 months. The next negotiations are scheduled for March 13th and 14th.
Lufthansa passengers must also expect strikes from another professional group in the near future. A few weeks before the start of the Easter holidays, the flight attendants of Lufthansa and its regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline voted for strikes in a strike vote by the UFO union on Wednesday. It remained unclear at the moment when strikes could be expected.
Damage to Lufthansa and the economy as a whole
According to him, the continued warning strikes at Lufthansa have cost the company around 100 million euros so far this year. In addition, numerous customers held back on bookings, said CFO Remco Steenbergen on Thursday at the balance sheet presentation in Frankfurt.
According to economic researcher Clemens Fuest, the ailing German economy is also suffering from the repeated strikes in air transport and railways. “This is an additional burden that we don’t actually need,” said the head of the Munich Ifo Institute in the ZDF morning magazine. “The economy is shrinking, and if something like that happens, then suddenly parts are missing from production that cannot be delivered, or people can’t come to meetings, maybe even to work.”
Fuest added: “But you have to say that the unions in Germany are very sensible overall.” In the past ten years there have been four to five times as many strike days in France as in Germany.
Source: Stern
