The strike planned for Friday at seven German airports is likely to have a huge impact on the Munich Security Conference, to which high-ranking politicians and diplomats from around the world are expected to travel. The Verdi union has called for a one-day industrial action at airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen.
“We assume that the participants of the Munich Security Conference, who come on government planes, can land by the emergency service,” Manuela Dietz, an expert on Verdi, told the Portal news agency on Wednesday. There will be talks with Munich Airport on Thursday.
However, participants planning to travel on other planes would have to look for alternatives. “I’m assuming massive effects and I estimate that almost no planes are going to or from Munich,” Dietz said. No passenger planes will take off or arrive at any of the other affected airports. However, emergencies must be able to land, machines with delivery of aid to Turkey and Syria must be able to start.
700 takeoffs and landings are planned for Friday at Munich Airport. It was still unclear as of Wednesday afternoon how many of them would actually happen or be cancelled. An airport spokesman said the strike would have a huge impact on scheduled passenger air traffic in particular. Conference participants arriving on separate machines will likely be able to land. Dealing with the additional flights during Siko means a lot of work for the airport. How many flights does Lufthansa, by far Munich’s biggest airline, have to cancel was still open on Wednesday.
The US delegation led by Kamala Harris arrives on Thursday
Organizers of the Munich Security Conference are concerned: “Hundreds of decision-makers from all five continents have already confirmed their participation,” a spokeswoman said. The strike will also affect the course of the conference. We are in close contact with all relevant authorities and especially guests in order to keep these effects as low as possible.
The three-day Munich Security Conference starts on Friday. In addition to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US Vice President Kamala Harris, dozens of heads of government, ministers of foreign affairs and defense, diplomats and many security experts are expected. In addition, a third of the US Senate is also expected to participate. According to the airport, the American delegation will arrive on Thursday.
Federal and local government officials, ground personnel, and aviation security officials were called to strike. Collective bargaining is currently being conducted for all three groups. “Negotiations so far have been practically fruitless,” said Manuela Dietz of the DPA news agency. “Nothing is moving forward in the public sector and among aviation security and groundhandling officials. To change this situation, we are increasing the pressure with warning strikes.” Verdi is demanding 10.5 percent higher wages in the public sector, and more money is also at stake in local collective agreements for ground staff and national negotiations for aviation safety.
Munich airport chief Jost Lammers, who is also president of the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry, said the nationwide strikes had nothing to do with warning strikes. “Verdi is completely overshooting the mark here and driving the fare conflict at the expense of passengers. The fare conflict should be cleared up at the negotiating table and not at the terminals at the expense of passengers.”
Incidentally, the IT glitch at Lufthansa on Wednesday barely affected flight operations in Munich. Only seven takeoffs and landings were cancelled.