Germany faces day of travel chaos as airport, rail staff strike for higher pay

European workers in public service have staged repeated walkouts in recent weeks demanding higher pay amid record inflation and cost of living crisis

Germany’s industrial action began at midnight on Sunday for 24 hours and also affects some ports, with severe disruption to travel expected

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Members of the railway union EVG protest in the main railway station in Stuttgart on March 27, 2023. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:35pm, 27 Mar 2023

Germany’s air and rail services ground to a halt on Monday during a one-day strike as workers join peers in France and the UK to fight for higher pay.

The industrial action began at midnight on Sunday for 24 hours and also affects some ports, with the Verdi and EVG transport and railway unions expecting severe disruption to travel, according to a statement. Verdi is demanding a raise of 10.5 per cent for public sector workers.

Major airports including Frankfurt and Munich will not operate Monday. Frankfurt Airport advised passengers changing planes to avoid the hub. Long-distance, regional and local trains operated by Deutsche Bahn and other railway will also come to a standstill, EVG said.

An information screen is pictured at an empty platform during a one-day wage strike of the public transport sector at Berlins main central station Hauptbahnhof. Photo: AFP

Verdi Hamburg on Saturday said that it has made agreements with all affected companies to guarantee safe passage in the event of accidents, emergency landings or medical or patient transport.

Travellers already got a taste of the chaos yesterday when Deutsche Lufthansa was forced to cancel some flights due to technical issues. Europe’s biggest airline group has suffered a spate of strikes and operational mishaps in recent months, riling passengers as air travel comes back from the pandemic and more people gear up to fly on their Easter holiday.

“Numerous connections are already cancelled every day because trains are no longer running due to a lack of staff,” EVG head Martin Burkert said in statement ahead of the strike. “This situation will continue to worsen because railway and transport companies will continue to bleed out personnel if wages are not significantly increased now.”

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn slammed the major strikes, saying it is affecting millions of people.