Two of Germany’s largest airports, Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf, are experiencing significant operational disruptions due to a strike by airport workers. The strikes have led to widespread flight cancellations and delays amid an ongoing wage dispute.
Düsseldorf Airport, the fourth-busiest in Germany, is particularly affected. The airport handles nearly 20 million passengers annually, with both short-haul flights from low-cost carriers like Eurowings and long-haul services from airlines such as Emirates and Etihad Airways. The ver.di union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft) initiated the industrial action involving workers across various departments including administration, check-in, aircraft handling, passenger transport, and baggage handling.
The strike was announced yesterday afternoon and is set to last 24 hours from Sunday evening to Monday evening. According to Düsseldorf Airport, at least 30% of Monday’s 334 flights are expected to be canceled due to the strike. Additionally, the airport has suspended its late-night check-in service for Sunday night.
Cologne Bonn Airport is also heavily impacted by the strike. Initially, it was reported that 46 take-offs and 29 landings would be disrupted during the strike period. With a total of 168 scheduled passenger flights during this time, this represented about 45% of operations. However, by this morning, the number of cancellations had increased significantly with 53 departures and arrivals each being canceled. This accounts for over 63% of scheduled operations at Cologne Bonn Airport during the strike period.
Due to these disruptions, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn have topped FlightAware’s rankings for delays and cancellations today. Despite this situation, Flightradar24 reports that flights still operating are doing so with minimal delays—an average of just 11 minutes at Cologne Bonn Airport and five minutes at Düsseldorf.
This marks another instance in a series of strikes affecting German airports in recent years. Today’s industrial action is part of broader wage disputes involving public sector employees at both federal and municipal levels following unsuccessful negotiations last week. Ver.di is demanding an 8% pay rise along with bonuses for airport staff due to their stressful working conditions. Gabriele Schmidt, Regional Director for ver.di stated: “The employers’ previous refusal to pay is hitting employees at airports [in North Rhine Westphalia] hard.”
