Hundreds of Flights Canceled Due to Strikes at German Airports
Hundreds of Flights Canceled Due to Strikes at German Airports
Hundreds of Flights Canceled Due to Strikes at German Airports
Hundreds of flights across Germany have been canceled as airport workers staged a nationwide strike over wages, causing significant disruption for air travelers.
The strike, led by the Verdi union, began unexpectedly on Sunday at Hamburg Airport before expanding into a countrywide protest.
Passengers at major hubs like Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin were urged to avoid traveling to airports as operations were severely affected. Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest, warned that passengers would not be able to board flights and that transportation would be “almost certainly” impacted.
Verdi, which represents public sector and transport workers, has been locked in an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions.
German media reported that thousands of flights could be canceled throughout the day, disrupting travel plans for more than 500,000 passengers.
Lufthansa, based in Frankfurt, announced that flights across all its airlines are facing major delays and cancellations. Meanwhile, Munich Airport cautioned travelers about a significantly reduced flight schedule.
Katja Brom, a spokesperson for Hamburg Airport—where all 143 scheduled departures for Monday were canceled—criticized Verdi for calling the strike without prior notice at the start of the holiday season.
She criticized Sunday’s strikes, calling them excessive and unfair to the tens of thousands of passengers who had no involvement in the dispute.
A Verdi spokesperson acknowledged the inconvenience but told German media that the disruption was necessary to secure a better offer from employers.
At Frankfurt Airport, many of the 1,770 scheduled flights had already been canceled, while in Munich, the majority of its 820 flights were expected to be affected.
Hundreds more cancellations were expected in Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Cologne, and Berlin.
According to German broadcaster NDR, many passengers had already checked in their luggage and were struggling to get it back. The strike also brought air traffic at Hanover Airport to a standstill.
Beyond airports, Verdi also called for strikes in waste collection services across several German cities, including Berlin, Essen, and Kiel, where garbage bins have remained unemptied since last week.
The union is demanding an 8% wage increase for airport workers—or at least an additional €350 per month—along with higher bonuses and more paid leave. Employers have so far rejected these demands as too expensive.
More strikes are expected this week in facilities operated by the federal government and local authorities, according to the German Press Agency, citing a Verdi spokesperson.
The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Friday in Potsdam.
