Germany’s major airports are set to face disruption on March 10, 2025, as German workers union Verdi has called for a 24-hour strike by public sector and ground handling employees.
Verdi said that this strike action is in response to ongoing collective bargaining negotiations for public sector employees, where employers have shown no willingness to meet their “justified” demands. The union has called for an 8% wage increase, which equates to an increase of least €350 (379.79) more per month.
Airports that will be affected by the industrial action include Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt/Main, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Hanover, Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin-Brandenburg, and Leipzig-Halle.
“Verdi is using its strike power at the expense of passengers and at the same time causing considerable losses in revenue for air traffic," said Ralph Beisel, managing director of German airport association Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen (ADV).
Verdi stated that there will be large scale restrictions on departures and arrivals, up to and including flight cancellations. The union also noted that it called the warning strike early in order to give passengers planning security.
Munich Airport stated that it is currently not possible to predict the extent of participation in the strike by various service providers. However, the airport did warn that out of an estimated 820 scheduled flight movements on March 10, 2025, airlines are likely to cancel the majority of these.
This latest strike action comes after workers represented by Verdi at Munich, Dusseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports conducted strike action in February.