The warning strike will begin early Friday morning and end Saturday evening.
Tens of thousands of passengers must be prepared for cancellations and delays. Those who want to fly from a German airport on Friday should be well informed in advance. The German trade union Verdi has called for a strike at seven major airports in the country. Travelers should expect delays and canceled flights at Frankfurt International Airport, among others.
The Verdi trade union announced its intention to paralyze the airports of Frankfurt, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen, thereby exacerbating the pay dispute in the public sector at airports. The trade union verdi expects that even at the largest German airport in Frankfurt many flights will not be able to take place at all or will only be delayed and that air traffic may also come to a standstill.
Ground handling staff, the airport fire brigade and aviation security staff, among others, are being called upon to strike. With warning strikes now ongoing, workers want to emphasize their demands in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute between the federal and local governments. Verdi and the civil service association DBB demand 10,5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more for the approximately 2,5 million employees in the public sector at the federal and local level. The term of the new collective labor agreement will be twelve months. The employers have so far denied the claims.
In the event of cancellations or serious delays of three hours or more , passengers are entitled to refunds and possibly also to compensation of up to EUR 600 .
The general manager of the airport association ADV, Ralph Beisel, sharply criticized the announced warning strike. A few days before the second round of negotiations, Verdi is exposing German air traffic to an unprecedented escalation, he said. If a day strike were to take place at seven of the ten largest German airports on Friday, it would no longer be a warning strike.
relief supplies
The victims are hundreds of thousands of passengers, both private and business travelers, as well as parts of air freight and freight logistics. According to the union, the strike is expected to have a strong impact, especially in domestic air traffic. Operations for relief supplies for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria would not be affected by the strike. Many relief supplies would also be delivered through the THW foreign logistics center in Mainz.
