Strike at 11 German airports to upend flights on Thursday
A one-day strike by German aviation security workers at 11 large airports in the country on Thursday is set to cause widespread disruption to passenger air service.
Security staff plan to strike at the airports in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hanover, Stuttgart, Erfurt and Dresden.
The strike will begin at the Cologne/Bonn Airport on Wednesday evening at 9 pm (2000 GMT), according to the Verdi trade union.
Other airports, including in Munich and Nuremberg, are not affected by the strike as security staff there are public sector workers covered by a different union contract.
A total of 1,100 flights have been cancelled or delayed, affecting an estimated 200,000 passengers, according to the German airport industry group ADV.
Several airports including Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Hanover have cancelled all take-offs, while other airports including Dusseldorf and Cologne wanted to maintain some operations despite the strike.
Lufthansa, the flagship German airline, has said passengers will be unable to enter through security or board flights at the affected airports.
But Lufthansa indicated that arrivals and connecting flights at some of the airports would continue, including in the busy hub of Frankfurt, and the airline hopes to continue operating a nearly full schedule on Thursday.
Lufthansa is offering free rebooking for affected passengers until February 8.
Lufthansa also said that all travellers booked for domestic German flights on Thursday can exchange their bookings for railway tickets at no cost, regardless of whether their specific flight is cancelled or not.
The Verdi trade union called the strike amid collective bargaining talks with private aviation security firms. The union is demanding pay increases and other benefits for roughly 25,000 airport security staff.
Ralph Beisel, leader of the airport industry group ADV, complained that airport operators will suffer from the strikes even though they aren't involved in the labour talks.
Verdi representative Özay Tarim told dpa that workers hoped to send a clear signal to employers and increase pressure for concessions at the negotiating table.
The union is demanding across-the-board raises of €2.80 per hour ($3.05). Wages in aviation security jobs currently begin at €20.60 per hour.
A spokesman for the Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) said that employers have offered a 4% pay rise for this year and 3% for next year, but rejected the trade union's demand as unaffordable.
Germany has been hit by a series of labour strikes in transport over the past week.
A six-day nationwide strike against state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn by the GDL train drivers' union ended on Monday, while a separate one-day strike by local public transit workers in most of the country is set for Friday.
