Strikes cause major German airports to halt operations

Aviation security personnel are walking off the job in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Cologne on Thursday and Friday, with the action expected to be expanded to other airports on Friday. The trade union Verdi is demanding pay raises to offset the rising cost of living. According to the airport association ADV, some 100,000 passengers may be affected, with the number of canceled flights estimated at 700. Verdi has been engaged in talks with Germany’s Federal Association of Flight Security Companies (BDLS) for years, but BDLS has refused to offer any improvements in terms of pay for security personnel working on Saturdays and Sundays. EVG has called for a nationwide transport strike on Friday, which will affect the operation of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn national railway company, among other entities. Germans have been grappling with rising inflation over the past several months, with the lingering effects of the pandemic and consequences of anti-Russian sanctions believed to be among the reasons behind it.