Several German airports, including those in Frankfurt and Munich (south), announced today that they will remain closed to passenger traffic this Friday, since the planned strike by ground staff will not allow them to operate.
The Frankfurt airport, the largest in Germany and the one with the highest air traffic in the European Union (EU), will completely suspend passenger traffic, according to Fraport, the operating company, which described the consequences of the strike as "disproportionate". .
The company assured that 1,005 movements were planned for Friday, between takeoffs and landings, and that approximately 137,000 passengers will be affected by its cancellation.
In the case of Munich, a spokesperson for the company that operates the airport confirmed in statements to the media that between 00:00 on Friday and 01:00 on Saturday local time none of the 700 scheduled takeoffs or landings will take place. of commercial flights.
However, the flights of government representatives from around the world who will attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Friday, in which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the vice president of the United States will participate, among others, will not be affected. USA, Kamala Harris.
The Hamburg airport, in the north of the country, also joined the measure to close passenger traffic and, according to some German media, the same thing is expected to happen in Stuttgart (south).
On the contrary, for the moment it is expected that the rest of the airports affected by the strike - those of Dortmund, Hannover and Bremen - will continue to operate despite the strike, although with a minimum of personnel.
The German union of the Ver.di services sector today announced strikes by ground staff at the country's main airports, demanding a 10.5% wage increase for the 2.5 million workers in the sector, a claim that has been rejected by the patronal.
Friday's strike follows those called in January at the Hannover and Berlin airports, which forced the suspension of virtually all flights to or from the German capital.
This Wednesday, a serious failure in the computer systems of the airline Lufthansa triggered numerous cancellations and delays of flights at the Frankfurt airport and even its temporary closure for landings.
