Germany's Air Traffic Faces Difficult Times Again, as the Wave of Strikes Will Not Subside on Thursday. Work stoppages at several airports are also expected on the following day. The trade union Verdi has called on the aviation security staff to hold warning strikes at several German airports, as announced by Hanover Airport on Wednesday. It remains unclear which airports will be exactly affected.

Already on Thursday, Verdi called the aviation security forces to a warning strike at five German airports. According to the union, the full-day work stoppages will progressively affect the airports of Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Cologne, and Berlin over the course of the night. Passengers will no longer be able to access the security area. An expansion of the strike could not be ruled out beforehand.

Experts estimate that on Thursday alone, due to the warning strike, about 90,000 passengers must expect flight cancellations and delays. The airport association ADV expects that more than 580 flights will be cancelled. The strike is part of the collective bargaining negotiations for the aviation security staff, affecting about 25,000 employees of private security service providers. These are responsible for the inspection of passengers, staff, and luggage at the access points to the security area on behalf of the Federal Police.

So far, the wage negotiations have been inconclusive, despite five rounds of negotiations. In the first wave of warning strikes at eleven airports, more than 1100 flights were cancelled. Verdi is demanding a 2.80 euro hourly wage increase for a period of twelve months as well as faster overtime surcharges from the first hour of overtime.

The impact of the strikes on air traffic is enormous and affects not only the airports involved but all passengers and airlines. The industry hopes for a prompt agreement to prevent further strikes and inconveniences for travelers.