11 of Germany’s largest airports were hit by strikes on Thursday 1 February. Several airports had to cancel all their departures, and up to 200,000 passengers were affected.
The German trade union Verdi announced a one-day strike for its security and baggage handling members on Thursday 1 February 2024. Many flights were therefore cancelled.
Verdi had called on employees at 11 airports to stop their work, as they believe that the current collective agreement negotiations have stalled. Among other things, the demand is higher wages and faster overtime allowances from the first hour of overtime for the approximately 25,000 employees at the airports. The collective negotiations resume on 6-7. February.
According to the Airport Association ADV, more than 200,000 passengers had to change their travel plans, as around 1,000 flights were canceled due to the strike.
Both Norwegian and SAS had several departures that were affected by the big German strike.
These 11 airports were affected by the strike on Thursday:
- Frankfurt
- Berlin
- Hamburg
- Dusseldorf
- Cologne/Bonn
- Bremen
- Hanover
- Leipzig
- Dresden
- Erfurt
- Stuttgart
Airports in Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart had to cancel all their departures on Thursday, while around 80 percent of scheduled flights to and from Cologne were cancelled.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AS AN AIRLINE PASSENGER
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in 2018 that airline passengers have the right to compensation if it is the airline’s own employees who strike.
Unfortunately, the situation is different when it is the employees of the airport who strike, as in this case. The strike at the 11 airports is included as an extraordinary circumstance. This means that it is beyond the airline’s control. You are therefore not entitled to compensation according to EU Regulation 261/2004.
However, you still have rights, such as being transported as soon as possible to your final destination. In case of delays of more than two hours, you are also entitled to a free meal.
If delays mean you have to wait until the next day to travel, you are entitled to a free hotel stay and transport between the airport and hotel.
TRAVELREFUND FIGHTS FOR YOUR AIR PASSENGER RIGHTS
At Travelrefund we do everything we can to help passengers getting their rights acknowledged by the airline. Our skilled legal department reviews your case completely free of charge. There are no withdrawals, prepayments or fees.
We always treat your plane delay compensation case as “no cure, no pay.” If you do not receive compensation, you will not pay.
All you have to do is enter your flight details in our application form. You can find the form here . If you qualify for compensation, our team of lawyers will take care of the rest for you. You can always contact us for questions . We’re happy to help.
You can read much more about your rights in connection with an air strike in this article.