After the strike: air traffic in Hamburg is running again

According to the airport, the first plane to take off from Hamburg at around 6:15 a.m. was a Eurowings plane to Zurich. The first landings from Istanbul and Lisbon took place shortly after 6 a.m. It was said in the morning that rebookings from the previous day could lead to a significantly higher occupancy rate for individual flights.

Empty terminals on Friday

Due to a 24-hour warning strike called by the ver.di trade union, Hamburg Airport was completely paralyzed from Thursday at 10 p.m. to Friday at 10 p.m. Passengers had been asked not to come to the airport at all and to contact their airline. The airport had originally expected around 32,000 arriving and departing passengers on 253 flights on Friday.

Seven airports affected

In addition to Hamburg, ver.di also largely paralyzed the airports in Hanover and Bremen on Friday. There were also warning strikes at the airports in Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Dortmund. The airport association ADV spoke of around 2,340 flights being canceled and around 295,000 passengers affected.

Hundreds demonstrate in front of the terminals

“Of course we have to go on strike sometimes”: A banner during the warning strike quotes Helmut Schmidt, after whom Hamburg Airport is named.

In Hamburg, several hundred airport employees gathered in front of the terminals on Friday morning for a rally. Many wore flags from the union ver.di and neon yellow warning vests. The warning strike is “a clear signal that we are ready to fight when it matters,” a speaker called out to the strikers. Many employees who are not covered by the collective agreement for the public sector also took part in the strike – for example in the areas of passenger handling and security control.

Next round of negotiations next week

With the warning strikes, the employees want to give emphasis to their demands in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute between the federal and local governments. The second round of negotiations is scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday. ver.di and the civil servants’ association dbb are demanding 10.5 percent more money for the approximately 2.5 million employees in the federal and local public sector, but at least 500 euros more per month.

Airport: No understanding for warning strike

According to the airport, the 24-hour warning strike in Hamburg was completely inappropriate. The warning strike also caused a lack of understanding because only a few days ago there was a collective agreement with ver.di at Hamburg Airport for ground handling service employees.

Further information

If a flight is delayed or even canceled, travelers are entitled to alternative transportation and, in some cases, compensation. more

A few flights were still canceled on Saturday morning. Since then, things have been back to normal in Hanover, Bremen and Hamburg. more

There were also flight cancellations and delays at Hamburg Airport on Wednesday due to IT problems at Lufthansa. (02/16/2023) more