Security screeners began a one-day walkout at 11 of Germany’s busiest airports on Thursday, bringing departures to a virtual standstill, scuttling travel plans for an expected 200,000 people and adding to the chaos caused by public-sector strikes.
Airports serving Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart canceled all departures in anticipation of the work stoppage, while others — including Frankfurt’s airport, the biggest in Germany — were trying to keep some flights in the air but warned of significant delays and cancellations.
Wolfgang Pieper, a lead negotiator for Verdi, the public sector union behind the strike, said that the work of airport security staff “must remain financially attractive so that the urgently needed skilled workers can be recruited and retained.” Screeners are demanding an hourly raise of 2.80 euros, or about $3, a 14 percent increase for a starting salary.
The federal association of aviation security businesses, which represents employers, called the demands “utopian.” It has offered a 4 percent increase this year, followed by a 3 percent rise next year.
In Frankfurt, roughly a third of the 1,120 planned flights were canceled. “If you are trying to depart locally, you won’t make it on the plane,” said Dieter Hulick, a spokesman for the airport, who noted that most connecting flights would be possible, even if there was a slightly longer wait than usual.
In Düsseldorf, only a third of the scheduled flights took off.
And in the cavernous departure hall of Berlin’s newly built BER airport, a few stranded passengers waited while rearranging their plans.
