Strike action grounds flights at Berlin airport

Flights departing from Germany’s Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) have had to be cancelled today, Monday April 24, due to strike action initiated by Verdi trade union.

The flight cancellations at the German capital come as the latest fallout from ongoing industrial actions which saw the terminals at three major airports in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Hamburg almost empty on Thursday last week.

Flight departures cancelled

Last week’s renewed strike actions by the powerful trade union signalled a new round of actions affecting German airports.

In a statement issued on its social media channels, the airport said that there would be no departures of passenger flights on Monday, April 24.

The airport cites the cause of the flight cancellations as being the strike action at airport security checkpoints.

The strike action involves airport personnel involved in security as well as passenger and goods control. The action is set to run for almost 24 hours, with strike action having commenced in the early hours of Monday morning and set to run until midnight.

The disruption to security has meant the cancellation of departures with the Berlin airport warning that flight arrivals may also be subject to cancellations or changes due to the situation.

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Further action possible

According to the news source Deutsche Welle DW, spokesperson for the Verdi trade union, Wolfgang Pieper warned of further strikes, announcing in a statement:

“We once again urge the association of flight safety employers BDLS to present a negotiable offer on April 27 and 28 and not to continue playing for time, otherwise there is a threat of further strikes in air transport in May and at Pentecost.” 

Last week’s strike action at other major German airports ran across the period from Thursday to Saturday, resulting in the cancellation of approximately 700 flights.

Wage negotiations between the trade union and employers are planned to continue this Thursday.