As of: February 1, 2024, 5:27 a.m
Comments
Press
Split
A display at Cologne/Bonn Airport shows canceled or diverted flights.
© Thomas Banneyer/dpa
Work stoppages at airports have the effect the union hoped for: many flights are canceled and travelers have to reschedule.
In the collective bargaining dispute, employers must give in, demands Verdi.
Cologne/Düsseldorf - A warning strike by security staff has largely paralyzed flight operations at Cologne/Bonn Airport.
Only five passenger planes were scheduled to take off on Thursday, according to the airport website early Thursday morning.
43 departures were canceled or the planes were diverted.
Of the arrivals, there were 35 cancellations or diversions, 15 were supposed to take place.
The Verdi union secretary responsible for the warning strike, Özay Tarim, said that the few flight movements still planned for the course of the day would probably have to be canceled.
The strike in Cologne/Bonn had already started on Wednesday evening, and Düsseldorf followed suit at midnight.
In Cologne/Bonn, the warning strike participation was “extremely high,” Tarim told the dpa early on Thursday morning.
Nobody showed up for the night shift of passenger control and only very few employees showed up for the night shift of personnel and goods control, which started a little later.
“That was a successful start to the strike.” The high level of participation was a strong signal to employers that they finally had to take action in the collective bargaining dispute, said the Verdi man.
The employees want to vent their dissatisfaction at rallies on Thursday morning at the two aviation locations.
In Düsseldorf, only about a third of take-offs and landings were canceled; according to the airport on Wednesday evening, there were supposed to be 189 instead of around 290 flight movements.
However, for flights taking place on Thursday, travelers have to be prepared for long waiting times at security checks.
In order to speed up the checks, you are asked to keep hand luggage to a minimum.
Cologne/Bonn Airport is also an important hub for cargo airlines.
This area was also hit by the work stoppages.
On Wednesday evening there was a long traffic jam of trucks at the gates of the air traffic area that still wanted to deliver their goods.
There were also strikes at airports in other federal states, such as in Frankfurt am Main.
The airport association ADV had previously estimated that around 1,100 flights nationwide could be canceled or only take off late.
Around 200,000 passengers are affected.
In the collective bargaining dispute, Verdi is demanding 2.80 euros more wages per hour, higher functional bonuses and overtime bonuses from the first hour of overtime.
The new collective agreement should have a term of 12 months.
The demands go too far for employers.
Collective bargaining is scheduled to continue in Berlin on February 6th and 7th.
dpa