89,000 passengers affected: strikes paralyze airports in the west and south

89,000 passengers affected
Strikes paralyze airports in the west and south

03/17/2023, 08:40 am

Anyone hoping for a punctual departure for a business trip or vacation could be disappointed today. There are strikes at the airports in Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. Hundreds of flights are canceled, tens of thousands of passengers need a lot of patience – or travel alternatives.

Tens of thousands of passengers once again have to prepare for flight cancellations and delays due to warning strikes at four German airports. At the two largest airports in North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn, as well as in Stuttgart, the all-day warning strikes began on Friday night, as Verdi spokesmen confirmed. In Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, the employees stopped work at around 5 a.m. A total of several hundred flights are said to be cancelled. Around 89,000 passengers are affected in total.

The Verdi union has called for a warning strike. The background is negotiations on payment in the aviation security industry and the wage dispute in the public sector. On Monday, employees at the airports were already in Hamburg, Hanover and at the capital airport Berlin-Brandenburg BER laid down their work. At Cologne/Bonn Airport, the warning strike began at 10 p.m. on Thursday, and in Düsseldorf the employees stopped working at 3 a.m. on Friday, said a Verdi spokesman. According to the union, strike alone in Düsseldorf around 500 employees. The union called on workers in passenger screening, personnel, goods and cargo screening and public sector workers to walk out. “We have a good participation, the mood is determined,” said the Verdi spokesman.

A spokesman said that 144 of the originally planned 148 take-offs and landings of passenger aircraft could not take place in Cologne/Bonn. In Düsseldorf, 264 of the originally 391 planned take-offs and landings would be canceled, according to a statement. There should also be no regular travel operations at Stuttgart Airport. According to the airport, only security landings and medical and military flights could be carried out, it said. 169 flight movements were planned, and around 20,000 passengers were affected by the warning strike.

According to the union, around 2,000 employees in Stuttgart were called on to go on warning strikes. Despite the call for a strike, there will be take-offs and landings at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport. However, there could be longer waiting times at the security checks, said managing director Uwe Kotzan. Passengers should allow more time and check their flight status before travelling.