Germany has canceled or rescheduled all flights to or from Berlin Airport that were scheduled for Wednesday due to a planned one-day labor strike.
Some 35,000 passengers were scheduled to fly through Berlin-Brandenburg Airport on about 300 flights on Wednesday. Airlines have postponed some flights to Thursday and diverted several flights to Dresden and Leipzig airports. Other passengers have been relocated on trains.
The Verdi union has called on airport workers, security personnel and ground staff to walk off the job. The stoppage is expected to affect airport firefighters, refueling operations, baggage handling and passenger check-in counters.
The union is demanding wage increases of €500 per month for airport company employees and ground handling services in a twelve-month collective bargaining agreement. The employers have pushed in negotiations for a much longer contract.
Verdi has called the striking workers to a picket line in front of the airport’s main terminal starting at 8 a.m., with a rally planned for 10 a.m., where up to 1,500 participants are expected.
The last time labor unrest in Germany canceled so many flights came during a major nationwide strike in April 2018. Hundreds of flights across the country were canceled after tens of thousands of municipal and federal government workers walked off the job.
That strike also affected public transportation, day care centers, health clinics, government administrative offices and public swimming pools in many parts of Germany.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
