Airport responds to warning strike
Berlin Airport is canceling all departures for Monday
4/22/2023, 3:07 p.m
At the start of the week, employees at the capital’s BER airport went on warning strike. The work stoppage has drastic consequences for travelers. All departures are cancelled. Passengers who want to land in Berlin on Monday could also be affected.
Due to the announced warning strike, no passenger flights will be able to take off from Berlin-Brandenburg Airport on Monday. Arrivals could also be affected, the respective airline decides on this, said an airport spokesman. Passengers are called upon to obtain regular information about their trips from the airlines.
According to Verdi, the warning strike by employees in the aviation security area, in passenger control and in personnel and goods control begins at 3.30 a.m. and ends at midnight. Already on Thursday and Friday, the union struck the airports in Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn as well as the airports in Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden on Friday. The work stoppages led to numerous flight cancellations. There was still a strike at Baden Airport today.
Verdi wants to increase the pressure on employers in negotiations for employees. The union has been negotiating with the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) for some time about surcharges for night, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday work as well as regulations on overtime pay for security and service staff.
“We once again urge the BDLS to submit a negotiable offer on April 27th and 28th and not to play for time, otherwise there is a risk of further strikes in air traffic in May and at Pentecost,” said Wolfgang Pieper from the Verdi union Communication.
The airport association ADV appealed to the collective bargaining partners to seek an agreement at the negotiating table. “An all-day strike that isolates the capital’s airport from international air traffic has long since had nothing to do with a warning strike,” the association said in a statement. Due to the short-notice announcement, the passengers affected hardly had a chance to “look for alternative travel options”.