The Ver.di strike that is planned for tomorrow seems to have struck deep, with Lufthansa Group giving up for the day at its hubs in Frankfurt-am-Main and Munich, cancelling 1,300 flights.
The Ver.di strike will call out public sector employees at the following airports on the 17th of February. It will impact the following airports as well (and their websites haven’t been coping this afternoon as the travelling public scramble to work out what is going on)
With the analysis complete, Lufthansa Group is suspending its flight operations at its German hubs in Frankfurt and Munich in particular for that day, cancelling a total of more than 1,300 flights.
Lufthansa has already informed passengers affected by the cancellations and, where possible, is offering alternative connections and rebooking on rail travel. In addition, customers are asked to check the status of their flight at an early stage on lufthansa.com and in the Lufthansa app.
Lufthansa expects regular flight operations to be largely back to normal as early as Saturday, 18 February 2023.
In Quotes
Michael Niggemann, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Officer of Human Resources & Infrastructure at Lufthansa Group said:
“We regret the enormous impact of this warning strike which is being carried out at the expense of our passengers. We are not a party to the collective bargaining and have no influence on it – nevertheless, our guests and we are massively affected. More than 1,300 flight cancellations for Lufthansa Group airlines alone show once again how vulnerable and fragile the air transport system is to strike activity,”
Michael Hoppe, Chairman and Executive Director of BARIG—airline association of national and international airlines in Germany—comments:
“We consider the announced warning strikes to be disproportionate and unreasonable. Collective bargaining disputes are to be solved at the negotiating table, but these ones are being carried out once again at the expense of several hundred thousand passengers in Germany and abroad. It is not acceptable that such disputes repeatedly paralyze large parts of an entire country’s important infrastructure, with massive repercussions for passengers and companies – especially in these economically uncertain times. In addition to the immense economic damage, the strikes also cause severe disruptions in supply chains when hundreds of tons of air freight remain grounded not just in Germany but all around the world. Moreover, the transport of humanitarian aid supplies for the earthquake regions in Turkey and Syria will also be significantly impaired and unnecessarily complicated. Therefore, we urgently appeal to the involved conflict parties to return to the negotiating table and get into constructive dialogue. There must be no further strike action in this conflict for the good of society.”
Christine Behle, deputy chairwoman of ver.di adds
“The employees are working together to put pressure on the respective employers because no results have been achieved in the negotiations so far,”
“In the public sector, we are facing the second round of negotiations without an offer and demand with the employees that the employers present a negotiable offer on 22/23 February. There is still a catastrophic shortage of workers in ground handling services – this was clearly felt by travellers last summer. In order to change this situation, an attractive wage increase must be made for them. And aviation security workers are entitled to an increase in the bonuses in the framework collective agreements. Employers have so far refused to make this justified demand. Inflation, high energy and food prices are driving most employees into an uncertain situation. Many no longer know how to pay their rents and fill the fridge. They need significantly more money to make a living. Employers must recognise this and react accordingly. They must reward the good work of the employees and relieve them of the immense financial pressure.”
Check with your airline
If you are even thinking of flying to one of the airports listed above tomorrow, check with your carrier as a matter of priority.
You may find (at best) heavy delays. At worst – cancellations.
Lufthansa’s information can be found at https://www.lufthansa.com/xx/en/flight-information.html
Travellers of other carriers should check now, as tomorrow, travel is going to be tough through Germany if you want to take to the air.
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