When and where is going on strike?
At the airport in Frankfurt am Main , passengers have to expect numerous failures on Tuesday, 15 January . The union Ver.di has called on the security personnel at the airport in Frankfurt am Main for an almost full-day warning strike. The security guards should resign from 2 to 20 clock , announced the union in Berlin.
It was "also not to be excluded that other airports are included in the warning strike," it said at Ver.di. Only on Thursday had a warning strike at three airports Dusseldorf, Cologne / Bonn and Stuttgart led to hundreds of flight cancellations. Three days earlier, the flight security personnel at the Berlin airports Tegel and Schönefeld had gone into the strike.
Who is affected?
Passengers traveling from Frankfurt will not be able to catch their flight during the entire strike period. "The security checks outside the transit area will not be occupied," said the Frankfurt airport operator Fraport. According to the Aviation Security Act, the inspection bodies may only be operated by specially trained personnel - therefore, according to Fraport, no other personnel can be deployed there for reinforcements. The airport operator asks the passengers concerned to refrain from traveling to the airport.
The transfer processes in the transfer area will probably be able to take place largely, said Fraport on his website. "However, it will come here to impairments and delays." From 20 o'clock the flight operation will start again for Zusteiger in Frankfurt, but it is to be counted on then also after it with impairments and delays.
Where is information for affected passengers?
The first contact person for air travelers is always the airline, for package holidays it is the tour operator. The respective airport - here in Frankfurt - offers detailed information about the current departure and arrival times on its website. For information from the Internet, it makes sense to print them out to later have a receipt.
Can the flights be canceled or rebooked?
A flight canceled due to a strike can be canceled by the customer, who then gets his money back. If you want to fly anyway, you are entitled to a later flight. But this can take a while until the strike is over - and also longer, because a backlog can occur. If a replacement flight is not possible until the next day or later, the airline must provide overnight stays and transfers to the hotel. For a package tour, the tour operator must arrange for a replacement.
What services are available to passengers in the event of flight cancellations and delays?
For flights up to 1500 kilometers, passengers who are two hours late are entitled to airline support services - ie telephone calls, drinks, meals and possibly one night's accommodation at the hotel. With a distance of 1500 to 3500 kilometers there is support after three hours, from 3500 kilometers after four hours.
And what compensation?
In the event of cancellation, overbooking or delay of at least three hours, passengers are entitled to compensation of up to € 600, according to EU regulations - but only if no "extraordinary" circumstance is to blame. The airlines rate strikes as well as miserable weather as an exceptional circumstance. Compensation therefore does not exist. However, consumer advocates have legal doubts about this view.
What else should be considered ?
Even with a large foreseeable delay, passengers should always be at the original departure time at the airport. Otherwise, there is a risk that the airline may offer a replacement flight earlier - and travelers may miss it.