Berlin: About 300,000 passengers were due to be affected by a 24-hour strike at seven German airports on Friday as unionized workers press their demand for higher pay.
“The terminals are empty this morning,” said a spokesperson for the airport in Hamburg, adding that very few of the 32,000 travelers affected had turned up.
According to the ADV Airports Association, some 2,340 flights were canceled at Bremen, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, and Stuttgart airports affecting about 295,000 passengers.
“When we look at the airport terminals this morning, it reminds us more of the worst days of the coronavirus and less of a warning strike,” ADV’s Ralph Beisel told broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk.
German trade union Verdi announced the strike on Wednesday after it said little progress had been made in collective bargaining efforts for ground service workers, public sector officials, and aviation security staff.
“If nothing is done about pay now, we will all be in for another chaotic summer,” Verdi Deputy Chair Christine Behle told Info radio on Friday. “It’s about sending a really strong signal.”
The strike coincides with the 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC).
Romania’s foreign minister, who was set to arrive on one of the canceled flights, will fly to Austria and then drive more than four hours to Munich, a Romanian embassy official said.
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