Germany’s biggest airports hit by staff walkouts over pay

Airport

Ground staff at Germany’s biggest airports headed out on strike over pay — the latest in a string of major disruptions to air travel in Europe’s biggest economy.

Security and other ground crew in Frankfurt and Munich staged one-day walkouts early Friday, leading to 1,300 flight cancellations for national carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

The renewed travel snags come just days after the airline’s global fleet was temporarily grounded when construction workers in Frankfurt severed a communications cable.

The protests are driven by the soaring cost of living after Russia’s war in Ukraine caused energy prices and inflation to jump. They risk complicating travel plans for delegates attending the Munich Security Conference — a major annual gathering of defense and foreign policymakers.

Labor union Verdi called the strike, citing dissatisfaction over collective-bargaining negotiations with the various companies and public agencies that employ ground staff. It’s demanding a pay increase of €500 ($543) a month for some workers and higher holiday-shift compensation for others.

“The employees are jointly putting pressure on the respective employers because no results have been achieved in the previous negotiations,” Verdi official Christine Behle said in a statement, pointing to another round of talks on Feb. 22.

Air traffic, particularly leisure travel, has bounced back strongly from the pandemic. The surge caused chaos at airports across Europe last summer after operators and ground personnel struggled to meet demand.

Strikes are also taking place at Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dortmund, Hannover and Bremen airports. Verdi held a similar walkout at Berlin’s main hub last month, cutting Germany’s capital off from international air travel.