Massive Disruption to Air Travel in Germany as Workers Strike

Workers in Germany are striking, leading to a massive disruption in air travel across the country.

The strike began overnight at Hannover Airport, which has ceased operations. Organizers of the strike aim to prevent as many flights as possible at the airports in Mainz-Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hamburg, and Dortmund, according to DW.

According to estimates by the ADV airports association, nearly 300,000 passengers will be affected due to the cancellation of 2,340 flights. The association has described the situation as an unprecedented escalation of a labor conflict. Only the Lufthansa airline group has had to cancel around 1,300 flights.

New cancellations effectively occurred immediately following a massive computer outage at airports, which was only resolved on February 15.

The Verdi union is demanding a pay increase of at least 500 euros per month for its members to offset the global inflation resulting from the military operations in Ukraine. The union has stated that failure to reach an agreement will result in chaos at Germany's airports.

The strike coincides with the opening day of the annual international security conference in Munich. Additionally, it creates a second issue for Germany's national carrier, Lufthansa, within the week. On Wednesday, a major computer outage caused thousands of air travelers in Germany to face delays or cancellations.

The outage paralyzed operations at the country's largest airport in Mainz-Frankfurt.