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Germany: Airport security personnel to strike Thursday

January 30, 2024

Security staff at major German airports are set to walk out on Thursday after negotiations stalled. Around 25,000 personnel are expected to take part in the industrial action, which will last all day.

https://p.dw.com/p/4bq1o
People wait at a check in at Cologne Bonn airport
Passengers at major German airports can expect delays on ThursdayImage: Christoph Hardt/Panama Pictures/IMAGO

Airport security staff at major German airports will go on strike Thursday February 1, trade union Verdi announced Tuesday. 

Approximately 25,000 employees in the aviation security sector have been called upon to stop work from early in the morning, reported German broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk, which is based in the federal state of Hesse, home to Frankfurt Airport.

Staff will walk out at Frankfurt Airport, Germany's biggest, as well as Berlin and nine other airports across the country, Verdi said.

Airport security personnel are responsible for baggage, staff and passenger checks, meaning airports cannot function without them. And the union is known to be demanding higher wages for its members.

Similar industrial action took place in March last year, shutting down airports across Germany and disrupting air traffic.

A spokeswoman from the Federal Association of Air Security Businesses (BDLS) told the AFP news agency they were yet to receive official notification of the strike, but criticized the plans in light of a regional public transport strike planned for the following day (Friday).

She said it creates the impression that Verdi wants to "match the GDL," referring to the railway workers' union which called a six-day strike last week.

mf/wmr (dpa, Reuters, AFP)

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