Frankfurt Airport Security Staff Strike Causes Hundreds of Delays, Cancellations

Frankfurt’s city center

The Friday strike by security staff at Germany’s largest airport has resulted in hundreds of delays and cancellations.

Workers who staff security checkpoints at Frankfurt International Airport walked off the job early Friday morning.  The move by ver.di, one of the world’s largest unions with 2.1 million members, follows a wage dispute with the federation of security firms, BDSW, or Bundesverband der Sicherheitswirtschaft.  The union said the job action would last until 11:00 p.m. local time.

Ver.di is trying to negotiate a higher collective wage agreement for the 7,000 security employees in Hessen, Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Saarland. Some 5,000 of those workers are employed at Frankfurt Airport.

Frankfurt Airport’s website is advising passengers “to refrain from coming to the airport – until further notice” because security checkpoints “are not sufficiently staffed to handle the regular passenger volume.”

Lufthansa, which has its main hub in Frankfurt, is telling passengers to check with the airline to find out if a particular flight has been cancelled.  It is offering those impacted by the strike the opportunity to cancel or rebook their journeys.

As of 3:00 p.m. in Frankfurt, almost 300 flights had been delayed and 57 were cancelled but many flights were still operating normally.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)