Germany: Airports to 'paralyze' on Monday

The Verdi union has announced mass protests at 11 major German airports on Monday. Thousands of flights are expected to be canceled. Read the DW story...
Bad news for those who have scheduled flights to Germany (or back from Germany) next Monday: Verdi, the largest public and third sector union in Germany, has called for strikes at all major airports in the country.

The protests will affect the airports of Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Hanover, Hamburg, Bremen, Leipzig and the joint airport of Cologne and Bonn.

Berlin Airport has announced that it will close on Monday, meaning none of the 246 scheduled departures and arrivals will take place. The other airports will try to accommodate as many people as possible. However, initial estimates suggest that around 3,400 flight cancellations are expected, affecting around 510,000 passengers. Loud protests are also planned at many airports. All this in view of the new, third round of negotiations on public sector wage increases, which begins in a few days.

Warning strikes had been held at four airports in recent weeks. The latest 48-hour strike, which took place at Munich Airport on February 27 and 28, saw 80% of flights cancelled. Something similar is likely to happen on Monday, an airport spokesman told the Merkur newspaper.

“A horror story”

Verdi is demanding 8% increases (or at least 350 euros per month), additional increases for specific burdensome activities, and three additional guaranteed days off per year. “We are forced to take action since the other side has not even submitted a concrete proposal for the negotiations,” says Verdi Vice President Christine Behle.

The reaction of the German Airports Association (ADV) was strong. “An entire country is being cut off from air transport,” ADV head Ralf Beissel told the German News Agency (dpa). He speaks of “a new dimension in strike action” but also of “a horror story for passengers, with wider implications for mobility and economic activity.”

However, further action is not ruled out in the coming days. The Cologne Public Transport Authority (KVB) has already announced a strike for next Wednesday, March 12, for the third time in two months!

Source: DW

Yiannis Papadimitriou

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