Germany strikes: Flight and train cancellations to cause travel chaos as transport unions walk out

12.03.2024 - 00:09 / euronews.com / Saskia ODonoghue

Germany will face travel chaos again this week as many of its train and airport workers are set to stage walkouts.

On Monday and Tuesday, the country’s GDL union will go on strike. They represent drivers of both passenger and freight trains. Drivers of freight trains will walk out at 6pm local time on Monday and will be followed by Deutsche Bahn’s passengers train drivers at 2am on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Lufthansa's cabin crew union’s strike will cause disruption at two of Germany's busiest airports, Frankfurt and Munich.

Slated to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, the walkout will affect both Lufthansa and its low-cost subsidiary, Cityline.

The strikes hitting both the rail and aviation networks in Germany come hot on the heels of recent, similarly disruptive strikes in the country.

The GDL has called for new industrial action as part of a long and bitter dispute with the state-owned main railway operator over working hours and pay.

The walkout was announced on Sunday evening - in keeping with a union announcement last week that it would no longer give a 48 hour notice before striking.

It follows a 1.5-day walkout last week which did not get a resolution for either side.

GDL is demanding for working hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay cut.

Across weeks of talks between the two sides, moderators have suggested a reduction from 38 to 36 hours by 2028 - but that proposal didn't satisfy the union.

They demanded a new offer by Sunday evening, which wasn't forthcoming.

The country’s transport minister has criticised the action.

Volker Wissing told the Bild newspaper, “Striking instead of negotiating is irresponsible.”

The minister also pressed GDL to resume talks and said formal arbitration proceedings must be launched.

GDL chairman Claus Weselsky “is overstepping the mark further and further,” Wissing added.

Not all regional train services in Germany will be affected by the dispute with Deutsche Bahn, however, as some are run by private operators.

Frankfurt and Munich, two of Germany's busiest airports, are set to be plunged into chaos on Tuesday and Wednesday after The Independent Flight Attendants Organisation (UFO) called for fresh walkouts.

Lufthansa says around 100,000 travellers are likely to be affected - and the German union's announcement comes days after the airline announced record profits for 2023.

The strike will have a knock-on effect on all departures out of Frankfurt airport on Tuesday and all flights out of Munich on Wednesday, from 4am to 11pm.

Passengers travelling with Lufthansa and its partner Cityline will face disruption, the union says.

The UFO is calling for a 15 per cent pay increase and a €3,000 inflation compensation payment. If given the go-ahead, it would benefit its