Berlin: Strikes began at 11 major German airports just after midnight on Monday, with public service workers, ground staff, and aviation security called out for 24 hours by the verdi trade union in two different wage disputes.
According to Qatar News Agency, further strikes in facilities operated by the federal government and local authorities are also set to proceed this week, as quoted by a verdi spokesman. The pay strike aims to paralyze air transport across much of Germany, with the ADV airport association predicting that more than 3,400 flights will be canceled and 510,000 passengers unable to board as scheduled.
The public sector strike, which has been planned since Friday, will be joined by employees in the aviation security sector. These are individuals who work in passenger control, personnel, goods and freight control, as well as in service areas. The next round of pay talks, the third, has been scheduled for Potsdam near Berlin on Friday, dpa reported.
According to German air traffic control, around 6,000 flight movements take place daily at German airports, with a further 3,000 passing through German airspace.