Germany: 300 flights cancelled at Hamburg airport; disruptions expected at Frankfurt, Munich, Bonn today

German trade union Verdi's surprise early walkout at Hamburg airport brought it to a halt on Sunday. According to official statements, the action led to the cancellation of 144 arrivals and 139 departures—nearly 300 flights— affecting more than 40,000 passengers.

Hamburg Airport is in Germany’s second-largest city. The airport authorities said the one-day strike over pay and other conditions began earlier than expected “without any notice.”

The strike at Hamburg is the first of more than a dozen planned disruptions at airports across Germany on Monday, 10 March, including at the country’s busiest airports, Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin Brandenburg.

“The union is paralysing the airport and without notice right at the beginning of Hamburg’s spring break,” New York Times quoted Katja Bonn, head of communications at the airport.

Verdi had not given notice of the move, and airport workers walked out after 10 flights had gone through in the morning, Hamburg Airport said in a statement.

According to the New York Times report, Verdi said it had brought the strike at Hamburg airport forward by a day and minimised warning of the start time to maximise the pressure on the German Airport authorities and to prevent the airport from bringing in nonunion workers.

"We do this to put pressure on the employer so that finally a reasonable offer comes to the table in the negotiations," the spokesperson said. “We can only make the strikes effective by calling for short-term action at the weekend.” Reuters quoted a spokesperson for Verdi in Hamburg.

Verdi is demanding an 8 per cent wage hike, or an increase of at least 350 Euros ($380) per month, as well as higher bonuses and additional time off. Employers have rejected the demands as unaffordable.

Verdi is escalating action after staging several walk-outs last month.

"Two rounds of strikes between talks already. That is clearly excessive and unfair to tens of thousands of travellers who have nothing to do with the disputes," said a spokesperson for Hamburg airport.

Around 5,10,000 people will be affected by the strike on Monday, with more than 3,400 flights cancelled, according to German airport association ADV, German news media reported. The latest strike represents an escalation after Verdi, the full name of which is the Unified Services Union, staged walkouts since wage negotiations started in January, reported Reuters.

(With agency inputs)