Hundreds of flights have been cancelled across Germany as airport workers stage a nationwide strike over pay, posing a major disruption for air travellers.
The industrial action, led by the trade union Verdi, began unexpectedly on Sunday at Hamburg Airport, before expanding to a nationwide strike.
Passengers at Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and other major hubs have been urged not to travel to airports, with operations severely disrupted. Frankfurt, Germany’s busiest airport, said passengers would be unable to board flights and transfer would “almost certainly” be affected.
Verdi, which represents public sector and transport workers, is in an ongoing dispute over wages and working conditions.
German media reports thousands of flights could be cancelled across the day, disrupting travel for more than 500,000 passengers.
The Lufthansa group, whose main hub is in Frankfurt, confirmed “delays and extensive cancellations” across all its airlines.
Meanwhile, Munich Airport warned of a “greatly reduced flight schedule”. This includes flights by Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and Swiss Air.
Katja Bromm, spokeswoman for Hamburg Airport, where all 143 departures scheduled on Monday have already been cancelled, said Verdi was “dishonourable” to call a strike without notice at the start of the holiday season.
She said that Sunday’s walkouts were “excessive and unfair to tens of thousands of travellers who have nothing to do with the disputes”.
A spokesman for Verdi accepted that the strike would affect many, but said the travel disruption was necessary to extracting a better pay offer.
Credit: bbc.com
