On Sunday, Hamburg Airport was closed due to an unannounced strike by the German trade union Verdi, the airport writes on X. This is only a taste of what is to come starting on Monday night Swedish time.
In principle, all major German airports, including Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin, are expected to have to stop their operations during the 24-hour period when Verdi's members plan to strike.
The strike will shut out an entire nation from air traffic. We urge Verdi to consider the passengers' best interests and try to find a solution in the negotiations, says Ralph Beisel, CEO of the airport industry organization ADV.
Major Airport
Frankfurt is not only Germany's largest and most important airport but also one of the airports in Europe that handles the most passengers and freight volumes annually.
The assessment is now that a total of 3,400 flights and approximately 500,000 passengers are expected to be affected by the 24-hour strike at the eleven airports, according to ADV, as reported by, among others, the German Handelsblatt.
The news will also have consequences for the Nordic airlines Norwegian and SAS.
Tomorrow, we have cancelled flights to Berlin, Hamburg, and Düsseldorf. All passengers have been informed, and we have set up extra flights to Germany the day after tomorrow, says Norwegian's communications chief Charlotte Holmbergh to the Norwegian Dagbladet on Sunday.
Demanding Pay Increases
Norwegian estimates that around 1,000 passengers will be affected. For SAS, flights - with a total of 567 passengers - to Hamburg from Copenhagen and Stockholm were affected on Sunday. It is unclear to what extent the company will be affected during Monday's strike.
"Airlines must have meetings with each affected local airport in Germany to understand the consequences. That's why it takes time to get an overview," writes SAS press office in an email to TT.
SAS flies to seven of the eleven airports that will strike.
The background to the strike is that the trade union is demanding an 8 percent pay increase for its members, as well as better bonus agreements and more days off.
The two parties are scheduled to start new negotiations in Berlin between March 14 and 16.
