Flights from Frankfurt not possible: strike at the airport

• OfJutta Rippegather

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The security checks at Frankfurt Airport remain closed on Tuesday. Guests must rebook. There are no alternatives, says the operating company Fraport.

Bad news for air travelers: The Verdi trade union is calling on security staff at Frankfurt Airport to go on an all-day strike this Tuesday, March 15. At Germany’s largest airport, there is therefore no way to pass the security checks. Passengers have to postpone their trip to another day, a Lufthansa spokeswoman told the Frankfurter Rundschau. Only the transfer passengers in the transit area remain unaffected by the industrial action on this day.

According to the operating company Fraport, around 770 flight movements and around 79,000 passengers were planned for March 15. A company spokeswoman could not say how many machines will remain completely on the ground. But most of the jets will probably take off with fewer guests than planned: “Since the checkpoints may only be operated by specially trained personnel according to the Aviation Security Act, the airport operator cannot use any other staff to reinforce the checkpoints,” said Fraport on Monday with.

Frankfurt Airport: strike

The Lufthansa spokeswoman was also unable to quantify on Monday how many guests would be affected. “We recommended to our customers not to travel to Frankfurt in the first place,” she explained. There is definitely no way to start a flight in Frankfurt on Tuesday. “Unfortunately there are no alternatives.” Travelers would have to rebook to another day or cancel.

The strike accompanies the ongoing collective bargaining, which will continue on March 16th and 17th in Berlin. It started on Monday at the airports in Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Berlin, Bremen, Hanover and Leipzig. Verdi is now calling on colleagues at the airports in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden to stop working on Tuesday.

The reason is that, according to the union, no agreement has been reached in the three rounds of negotiations so far. Verdi is negotiating nationwide for around 25,000 industry employees with the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS). The employer side made an offer, but this was not increased in the past negotiations. It in no way reflects the price trend and led to protests and strikes as early as the end of February.

“The work of the aviation security forces must remain financially attractive so that the urgently needed specialists can be recruited,” explained Verdi negotiator Wolfgang Pieper. In Frankfurt alone, at least 150 specialists are currently needed to avoid long queues at the controls. The hourly wage must be increased by at least one euro – with a term of twelve months, said Pieper. “Already there is a shortage of qualified workers who are willing to work extremely flexibly at the airport around the clock, on weekends and on public holidays.”

Frankfurt Airport: Fraport criticizes the strike

Fraport appealed to the collective bargaining partners to return to the negotiating table and find an amicable solution. “The aviation industry is currently being hit hard by the pandemic and the Russian attack on Ukraine,” said a company spokesman. “Such a strike is an additional and, above all, disproportionate burden.”

Of course, the company respects the right to strike of the employees of the security service providers. “However, we have no sympathy for such a comprehensive strike that is carried out on the backs of the passengers.”

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