Yet another strike in Germany has impacted four airports - Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart and Baden-Baden - less than a week after the last walkout. Hundreds of flights have been canceled on short notice as security and ground handling workers strike on Friday.

Warning strike hits German airports

German trade union ver.di has launched its second strike this week after calling on ground handling and security staff to walk out on Friday in protest against pay and working conditions, severely limiting operations at Düsseldorf (DUS), Cologne/Bonn (CGN), Stuttgart (STR) and Baden-Baden (FKB).

Stuttgart Airport
Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

Andrea Becker, a regional head of ver.di, commented,

"Inflation, high energy and food prices trigger existential fears among employees. Many no longer know how to pay their rents or fill their refrigerators. They need significantly more money to make a living."

The strike is set to last all of Friday until the early hours of Saturday morning and also led to considerable disruption on Thursday evening as airlines made last-minute schedule changes.

As Simple Flying reported on Monday, strikes at several German airports forced hundreds of cancelations, with around 200 flights scrapped at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) and almost 250 canceled at Hamburg Airport (HAM).

How bad is it?

According to a report from Anadolu Agency, DUS has scrapped 264 of 391 scheduled inbound and outbound flights, while CGN has canceled 144 flights. As for STR, the airport has shut down entirely for the day - with around 170 flights affected - before a planned reopening on Saturday, while FKB expects significant disruption and longer waiting times.

Stuttgart Airport said in a statement,

"No take-offs and landings are possible all day due to the Verdi strike. Regular flight operations will resume on Saturday, 18 March."

DUS has been one of the worst impacted German airports due to strikes - this will be the third walkout in as many months this year, while CGN and STR have also suffered disruption following strikes in February.

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Disruption to continue into next week

Every time a major event like this happens, it leads to a knock-on effect for passengers after the strike has ended. Impacted airlines will almost certainly re-jig their schedules as they seek to fit in affected passengers, leading to further delays and schedule changes down the line.

Lufthansa A340
Photo: Lufthansa

Unfortunately for German travelers, strikes are likely to continue in the coming weeks and months as union ver.di pushes for improved pay and employment conditions for its members.

Ver.di is seeking an overall 10.5% salary increase for its members, along with higher pay for irregular hour work shifts overnight and on weekends, amongst other changes - in a sign of encouragement for aviation workers, ver.di's postal members were recently granted their pay rise demands after calling for an indefinite strike.

Have your travel plans been affected by the warning strike on Friday? Has your airline offered you new travel arrangements? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Anadolu Agency