Flights are canceled because of a strike at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Schoenefeld, Germany, on Monday. RALF HIRSCHBERGER/AFP
More than half a million travelers faced severe disruptions as workers at 13 major German airports, including the key Frankfurt and Munich hubs, launched a strategic 24-hour strike on Monday.
The nationwide walkout, organized by the Verdi trade union, brought Germany's aviation network to a virtual standstill, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights and highlighting the growing tensions between labor groups and airport operators.
The influence was particularly severe at Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest aviation hub, where an unprecedented 94 percent of flights were grounded, with 1,054 out of 1,116 scheduled operations canceled and ripple effects threatening to extend into Tuesday's operations, reported German news agency dpa, citing airport traffic management.
Berlin Airport canceled all its regular flights, while major centers such as Hamburg and Munich were forced to drastically reduce or suspend their services entirely, reported The Associated Press.
The industrial action stems from the Verdi union's push for an 8 percent wage increase, or a minimum 350-euro ($380) monthly raise, a demand that employers have firmly rejected as financially untenable amid continuing negotiations, reported Reuters.
The walkout, a so-called warning strike tactic common in German labor disputes, involves parallel negotiations for both airport security personnel and public sector workers, with talks scheduled to resume on separate dates this month. Negotiations for federal workers resume on Friday, while airport security staff will return to the bargaining table on March 26.
The airport disruption is part of a broader wave of public sector strikes taking place across Germany this week led by the Verdi union, affecting 2.5 million workers from various services.
The union's package of demands extends beyond pay, encompassing better workplace safety standards, increased vacation allowances, additional shift work benefits, and worker autonomy in selecting doctors for mandatory health screenings.
The association of Germany's airport operators estimated Monday's strike effect to be substantial, stating more than half of Germany's typical 6,000 daily flights were facing cancellation, with some 3,400 flights set to be grounded, leaving more than 510,000 passengers stranded.
While operators protested the sudden action, a Verdi spokesman told Deutsche Welle news network: "The walkout was necessary so that the impact of the strike could really be felt."
