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Strike at Hamburg Airport (March 2023): Normal operations are not possible without the aviation security forces

Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa

When and where will there be a strike?

The Ver.di union called on employees of private security service providers at eleven German airports to go on an all-day warning strike on

Thursday, February 1st

. The aviation security forces work at checks for passengers, baggage and personnel. Without them, normal operation is not possible. It is expected that more than 1,100 flights would be canceled or could only take place with delays, the airport association ADV announced on Wednesday. Around 200,000 passengers are affected.

Strikes are taking place at these airports:

  • Frankfurt am Main

    Airport

    : Security checks outside the transit area will be closed, a spokesman for operator Fraport said. “It is therefore not possible to board flights from Frankfurt.” The company asks all passengers who originally wanted to start their journey in Frankfurt not to come to the airport. Originally, 1050 departures and arrivals were planned.

  • Berlin Brandenburg

    Airport

    : All departures planned for Thursday have been canceled. Arrivals may also be affected. Originally, around 170 take-offs and landings with almost 50,000 passengers were planned for the traffic day. Flight operations will return to normal on Friday, at the start of the winter holidays.

  • Hamburg

    and

    Hanover

    airports

    : All departures on Thursday have been canceled, spokespeople announced. Delays and possible cancellations are also to be expected with arrivals.

  • Bremen

    Airport

    : The strike will lead to restrictions and longer waiting times at passenger checkpoints, the airport operator writes on the website. Travelers must expect delays and cancellations.

  • Düsseldorf

    Airport

    : "We are committed to maintaining a reduced flight schedule that adapts to the personnel situation," said a spokesman for Düsseldorf Airport - details are to be announced in the afternoon. A total of 290 take-offs and landings were originally planned. There will be a strike in Düsseldorf from midnight, where there is a ban on night flights.

  • Cologne/Bonn

    Airport

    : There will be cancellations, said a spokesman for Cologne/Bonn Airport. 103 take-offs and landings were actually planned at this airport for Thursday. For Cologne/Bonn, the work stoppages are scheduled to begin on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m., as there is no ban on night flights and therefore more staff are deployed at night than in Düsseldorf, for example.

  • Leipzig/Halle

    and

    Dresden

    airports

    : cancellations and delays are to be expected, several connections have already been canceled. Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG recommends that passengers check with the respective airlines.

  • Erfurt

    Airport

    : According to the union, around 30 employees in Erfurt are planning to stop working. However, the airport does not expect any impact here. “All employees of the airport company are paid according to an in-house collective agreement,” said a spokesman. There is therefore a duty of peace for the employees.

  • Stuttgart

    Airport

    : All departures are canceled for Thursday. The approximately 70 starts cannot be carried out as planned, as a spokeswoman for the airport announced on Wednesday in Stuttgart. There could also be problems with arrivals. 142 flight movements were originally planned at the state capital's airport on Thursday. An estimated 15,000 passengers are affected. According to the information, you should check the status of your flight and contact your airline or tour operator.

Munich and Nuremberg airports are not on strike because public sector employees work there.

How are the airlines reacting?

more on the subject

  • Industrial action by the aviation security forces: Ver.di is calling for nationwide airport strikes on Thursday

  • Standstill on Friday: Where the Ver.di railway workers will go on strike on Friday

Lufthansa offers its

customers

extensive options for rebooking. At Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and Erfurt airports, passengers should not come to the airport because boarding is not possible there, the company warned in its app. This also applies to customers whose Lufthansa journey begins by train and who want to get on the plane in Frankfurt.

The company asked customers to rebook flights themselves using the app or to contact a service center. It is now possible for all passengers booked to Frankfurt for Thursday to exchange their tickets for a Deutsche Bahn ticket. Longer waiting and transfer times can be expected for arriving passengers in the transit area.

The direct flight subsidiary

Eurowings

also asks passengers to find out more about their flights and, if necessary, have them rebooked. An adjusted flight schedule, about which passengers will be informed, should be published in the afternoon. Originally 270 flights were planned.

How do I get to my destination in the event of cancellations or major delays?

In the event of a flight cancellation due to a strike or a delay of more than three hours, the airline must offer travelers alternative transport to their destination - for example by rebooking them on another flight. This often happens automatically. Or the airline offers the option of converting the ticket for domestic flights into a train ticket.

If the airline does not come to those affected with alternative travel options, they should give them a deadline to obtain the alternative. If the airline does not comply with the request, travelers could obtain a replacement themselves and bill the airline for the costs afterwards. Tip: Travel lawyers consider two to three hours to be a reasonable deadline for the airline.

Can I return my plane ticket?

If a flight is canceled or is delayed by more than five hours, travelers can return the ticket and request their money back - they do not have to accept vouchers. Processing fees may not be retained by the airline either. If you ask for your money back, you are also responsible for how you move forward. The airline is then no longer obliged to provide alternative transport.

What applies if the flight was booked as part of a package holiday?

For package tours, the tour operator is obliged to arrange alternative transport. He is also the first point of contact for all other requests.

What if I get stranded at the airport?

In the event of a cancellation or flight delay of two hours or more, the airline must provide drinks and snacks, for example in the form of vouchers for restaurants at the airport. If the departure is postponed to the following day, the airline has to arrange overnight hotel accommodation and also ensure the transfer from the airport there and back again.

Will I receive compensation?

The EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation provides for, under certain conditions, compensation payments of 250 to 600 euros per passenger for delays of more than three hours at the destination and short-term flight cancellations. To put it simply, whether passengers can claim these funds in the event of flight problems as a result of a warning strike depends primarily on who is specifically on strike.

According to the Arbitration Board for Public Passenger Transport (söp), the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation is applicable “if the flight is started in an EU member state or, in the case of a flight outside the EU, the airline is based in the EU and the flight destination is in one Member State lies”.

If airport staff go on strike, the prospects for compensation are rather poor - as in this case, in which the employees of private security companies at the airports are called on to go on a warning strike. The situation can be different if employees of an airline go on strike - as recently happened at the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover.

Important to know: The right to replacement transport or reimbursement of ticket costs exists in any case, regardless of whether passengers are also entitled to compensation.

Where can I find more information?

Passengers can read about their rights in detail on the consumer advice center website. The free Flugärger app from the NRW Consumer Center can help you check possible claims. The European Consumer Center offers an online self-help tool for flight problems.

The Arbitration Board for Public Transport (söp) has also summarized important air passenger rights at a glance on its website. You can also contact söp free of charge with a request for arbitration if there is a dispute with the airline regarding reimbursement issues or if the airline does not respond.

abl/dpa