Hundreds of Flights Canceled and “Massive Disruptions” in Rail Travel Across Germany Due to Strikes

08.03.2024 - 22:09 / afar.com / Deutsche Bahn

Travelers in Germany have had to navigate around a flurry of strikes during the past two days, as staff of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and German air carrier Lufthansa have walked out over ongoing contract negotiations between the transit providers and unions.

The rail and air strikes, which are expected to continue through Saturday, March 9, already have affected millions of travelers and “crippled” the country’s air and rail systems, according to German media outlet Deutsche Welle.

In addition, a strike by security staff at Frankfurt and Hamburg airports disrupted operations on March 7. In a statement on social media site X, Lufthansa advised passengers who were scheduled to fly out of either airport on March 7 to “not go to the airport.”

Frankfurt Airport, the largest in Germany, shared its own travel advisory recommending that all Lufthansa passengers check their flight status before heading to the airport during the strike period. As of Friday, March 8, the airport was still experiencing disruptions.

“Currently there are different strikes going on, and all of them are affecting travelers in one way or another,” Jakob Wert, editor in chief of International Flight Network, a Germany-based aviation trade publication, told AFAR. “If you’re unlucky, you might get affected by three strikes in the same day. At least that was the case yesterday [Thursday] for some travelers.”

On March 7 and 8, Lufthansa was only operating about 10 to 20 percent of its normal flight schedule due to a previously announced strike by ground crew, the carrier said in a statement on X. The strike was organized by Verdi, also known as the United Services Union, a Berlin-based organization with about 2 million members; it was scheduled to run from March 6 at 8 p.m. until March 9 at 7 a.m. (local time).

State-owned rail network Deutsche Bahn, meanwhile, continues to grapple with “massive disruptions” following a 35-hour strike by GDL (Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer), a union of train drivers, that was scheduled to end on Friday afternoon. The train operator announced the strike on social media site X earlier this week. The strike is aimed at rail workers being able to work fewer weekly hours while still earning the same full pay in a move to ease high inflation and staff shortages in Germany, according to Reuters.

Deutsche Bahn said in a statement that it expects to resume “basic passenger transport service” as of 6 a.m., local time, on Saturday, March 9. But the rail operator also warned passengers that disruptions will likely continue across regional and local trains.

Wert, who commutes every weekday from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt, said he used Deutsche Bahn’s emergency timetable, which the rail operator created in