Strike and snowfall cause flight cancellations in Germany

Germany´s second largest workers´ union ver.di has called for an all-day warning strike by ground staff with very short notice at Hamburg airport on Monday.

In the first 4 hours after the announcement of the strike, airlines already cancelled 58 of the 388 flights that were scheduled in Hamburg on Monday. "Further flight cancellations and delays cannot be ruled out," Hamburg airport informed.

In addition, 140 flights were cancelled at Munich Airport on Monday due to heavy snowfall and the effects of the ongoing strike in Hamburg. The bad weather had already caused 350 flights cancellations in Munich airport on Sunday.

Ver.di is demanding a monthly tariff increase of 275 euros (314 U.S. dollars) for almost 1,000 employees of the ground staff at Hamburg Airport.

"This short-term 24-hour strike is, at this stage of collective bargaining, totally exaggerated and excessive," said Christian Noack, CEO at HAM Ground Handling.

About two weeks ago, a strike by security personnel at Hamburg Airport had already led to considerable disruptions. Around 40,000 passengers were affected during the last strike action.