More than 90,000 passengers were affected by the warning strike at Munich Airport. Even the day after, travelers have to be prepared for long waiting times.
- After the strike: long waiting times, even on Saturday mornings
- more than 700 flights for around 90,000 passengers are canceled at Munich Airport
- Private flights for the Munich Security Conference are not affected
- the airport warns of high passenger numbers in the coming days
Update from February 18, 09:15: Travelers will still feel the consequences of the Verdi strike on Saturday: Munich Airport announced in advance on its website: “Due to the previous strike and the beginning of the holidays, we expect a high number of passengers on Saturday, February 18th at Munich Airport.”
If you want to fly today, you should plan a little more time. On Saturday morning, it took more than an hour just to get through the security check: “The line in front of the security check meanders through the entire departure hall of Terminal 2,” reported a person affected on site. “Once around the baggage counters and again to the exit.”
Officially, Verdi stopped its strikes in the night from Friday to Saturday, the after-effects can still be clearly felt the day after. Munich Airport therefore advises its passengers: “Plan enough time for arrival, for check-in and for the security check.”
Also in Munich: with “smaller actions to be expected.”
Update from February 17, 3:30 p.m.: For the coming week, Verdi is reducing its warning strikes in Bavaria. However: “in Munich, Augsburg and Bamberg [kleineren] Actions to be expected,” the union said. No major strike is planned for Friday either. On Wednesday, February 22nd, the second round of collective bargaining for the 2.5 million people who work in the public sector at federal and local level begins in Potsdam.
More than 7,000 strikers took part in today’s warning strike in Bavaria, said the deputy Verdi regional manager, Sinan Öztürk. The high level of participation is a clear sign: if the second round of negotiations doesn’t work, “we’ll top it”. On March 1, the union is planning a major demonstration in Nuremberg with young employees and trainees from all over Bavaria.
Your demand remains 10.5 percent more salary, but at least 500 euros more per month for a period of twelve months. “Employers’ negative attitude, especially with regard to the required minimum amount of 500 euros and 200 euros for trainees, was viewed extremely negatively by the employees,” says Öztürk. Not only flight personnel, but also employees from daycare centers, garbage disposal and other areas had struck this week for more wages.
No problems with Deutsche Bahn – increased traffic on the streets
Update from February 17, 3:16 p.m.: Although air traffic at Munich Airport has been almost completely paralyzed since Friday morning, there has been no chaos on Bavaria’s roads and rails so far. “We were usually able to accommodate the passengers who switched to the train without any problems,” said a spokeswoman for the railway. So far, rail operations have been largely problem-free, despite increased passenger numbers.
The Bavarian streets also remained quiet in the morning, according to a police spokesman. However, due to the beginning of the carnival holidays, the ADAC expects more motorists to set off for their skiing holidays in the direction of the Alps from the afternoon. This is not necessarily related to the warning strike.
A few replacement flights via Nuremberg and Memmingen
Update from February 17, 12:27 p.m.: A few passengers can start their journey despite the warning strike on Friday. However, the flights will not go via Munich Airport as planned, but via Memmingen or Nuremberg. A total of five planes are expected to take off from Memmingen Airport towards the south – such as Greece and Egypt – and three of them should take off from Nuremberg Airport in the morning. A spokeswoman for Allgäu Airport said it was “a bit fuller than usual”, but otherwise everything is going according to plan so far.
Munich Airport warns of high passenger numbers in the coming days
Update from February 17, 11:06 a.m.: According to the Verdi union, the warning strike did not deliberately coincide with the time of the Munich Security Conference: “It is actually a coincidence. That was not a size at all in the planning,” says a spokesman for Verdi Bayern. After all, there are also strikes at other German airports such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Private flights as part of the Munich Security Conference are excluded from the strike anyway, as are all special flights that involve medical, technical or other emergencies. Some MSC participants already used Thursday, February 16, to travel. So did US Vice President Kamala Harris, who arrived in the state capital yesterday morning.
It is currently noticeably empty at Munich Airport, an airport spokesman said in the morning. “There are almost no people to be seen because these strike measures were well known.” In the coming days, however, the airport is expecting a particularly high number of passengers due to the canceled flights and the start of the holiday season. Travelers should therefore plan a little more time and be there on time.
Munich Security Conference flights not affected
Update from February 17, 7:50 a.m.: The all-day warning strike has also started at Munich Airport since morning. All regular passenger flights are canceled, affecting more than 700 take-offs and landings and around 90,000 passengers. No planes are scheduled to land or take off until 1 a.m. Saturday. Passengers are therefore strongly recommended to contact their respective airline if they actually want to fly to or from Munich on Friday. However, the more than 50 private flights planned for the Munich Security Conference are excluded from the warning strike.
“Everything started as planned,” says Manuela Dietz from the Verdi union. The location is very quiet. The union had called for all-day warning strikes at several German airports. According to Verdi, employees in the public sector, aviation security and ground handling services are involved in Munich. A demonstration is planned at the airport from 11 a.m., to which individual strikers have already gathered during the night.
All-day warning strike at German airports has begun
First report from February 17, 6:22 a.m.: The Verdi union has paralyzed large parts of German air traffic. The warning strike started on Friday night (February 17). If possible, no more planes should take off or land in Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hamburg and Dortmund. Airport operations in Hanover, which is the only one of the seven airports on strike that does not have a night flight ban, are very limited, said a Verdi spokesman for the German press agency dpa.
According to estimates by the airport association ADV, almost 300,000 passengers are affected by a good 2,340 flight cancellations. The association spoke of an “unprecedented escalation”. Lufthansa alone had to cancel around 1,300 connections after overcoming the IT breakdown caused by an excavator on Wednesday.
Airport strikes on Friday: “Unprecedented escalation”
With the walkout, not only at the airports, the employees want to emphasize their demands in the collective bargaining dispute between the federal and local governments. In addition to the public service, there are also local negotiations for ground handling services and a nationwide round of collective bargaining for aviation security. Joint rallies are planned.
Verdi and the civil servants’ association DBB are demanding 10.5 percent more income in the public service wage dispute, but at least 500 euros more for the approximately 2.5 million federal and local employees. The term should be twelve months. The employers have rejected the claims. The second round of negotiations is scheduled for February 22nd and 23rd in Potsdam. An offer from the employer has not yet been received. (AFP/dpa/frs)
