24-hour strike at German airports on Monday to impact half a million people

By Friederike Heine

BERLIN (Reuters) -More than half a million passengers will be affected and thousands of flights cancelled due to a 24-hour strike at major German airports on Monday, after trade union Verdi called for employees in the public sector and ground handling to walk out.

The association of Germany’s airport operators ADV said that around 510,000 people would be affected and more than 3,400 flights cancelled as a result of the strike, which marks a major escalation after Verdi staged several walk-outs last month.

"Germany’s air traffic will be largely shut down on Monday," the ADV said in a statement, adding that the strike was a "horror scenario for affected passengers" that would affect not only mobility, but also the economy.

Frankfurt Airport said there would very likely be no departures from Germany’s main hub. It advised passengers to refrain from coming to the airport and called on those transferring through the airport to check the flight status on their airline’s website.

Other airports affected on Monday include Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn, Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Hanover, Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin and Leipzig-Halle.

Germany’s air traffic control operator, DFS, said it would not be directly affected by the strikes.

The union, which is demanding an 8% wage increase, or at least an increase of 350 euros ($380) more per month, as well as higher bonuses and additional time off, said it called the warning strike after a second round of collective bargaining failed last month.

Employers have rejected the demands as unaffordable.

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Negotiations are due to continue later this month.

($1 = 0.9216 euros)

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