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Munich: Flights canceled over two-day airport strike

Saim Dušan Inayatullah with dpa and AFP
February 27, 2025

The Verdi union has called for the work stoppage at Germany's second-largest airport to last until midnight on Friday. Industrial action has also halted cargo traffic at the port of Hamburg.

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Departures board at Terminal 2 at Munich airport with message on cancelations due to strike
A two-day strike at Germany's second-largest airport has caused hundreds of flight cancelationsImage: Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON/dpa/picture alliance

Hundreds of flights were canceled at Germany's Munich Airport on Thursday as a two-day strike by ground crew and security staff kicked off.

Munich Airport is Germany's second-largest after Frankfurt.

Also on Thursday, a strike paralyzed cargo ship traffic at the port of Hamburg.

The strikes come as the Verdi union demands improved conditions for workers in Germany's public sector, both on the local and national level.

Verdi union strike sign and flag on February 27, 2025
The Verdi union wants an 8% pay increase Image: Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON/dpa/picture alliance

What do we know about the airport strike in Munich?

Verdi has called for the work stoppage to last until midnight on Friday.

The union is demanding an 8% pay increase for workers, which would amount to at least €350 ($366.7) more per month.

Verdi is also calling for higher bonuses for particularly stressful jobs and more days off.

It said in a statement that ground and security workers made "an indispensable contribution to the safety and reliability of air traffic — around the clock, in all weather conditions."

Only 100 of 830 scheduled departures and arrivals would go ahead as planned on Thursday, France's AFP news agency cited a Munich Airport spokesperson as saying.

The next round of talks with employers is scheduled for March 14.

Verdi also announced a strike at Hamburg Airport, while workers at the Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports in the western German state of North-Rhine Westphalia went on strike on Monday.

Verdi strike demonstration in hamburg
Verdi's public sector strike has halted cargo traffic at Germany's largest portImage: Marcus Brandt/dpa/picture alliance

Strike stops cargo ship traffic in Hamburg

A strike by public sector workers has stopped the flow of cargo ship traffic at the port in the northern German city of Hamburg, a spokesperson for the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) told Germany's DPA news agency.

Transfer boats that bring pilots to large container ships have been shut down by the strike.

HPA said that ships that do not require pilots could continue to travel to and from the port.

The Verdi union said that container ships had not been sailing in the port since Wednesday at 6 p.m. local time (1700 UTC).

HPA said that ship traffic was expected to resume on Friday morning if the strike is not extended.

Edited by: Kieran Burke