German airports may be disrupted Monday as union calls walkout

Airport services and flights across Germany are likely to be affected Monday after a union called for an all-day walkout over a pay dispute for security personnel. 

The Verdi union said it’s calling for protest action at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport on Monday by security staff working in passenger screening, and personnel and goods control. The walkout from 4 a.m. to midnight is part of nationwide walkouts that day by security workers that will also affect Bremen, Hanover, Leipzig, Duesseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports. 

“We expect significant disruptions to air traffic,” though possible delays on national and international routes are unquantifiable, Verdi representative Helge Biering said on Saturday.

Three rounds of negotiations on pay increases for 25,000 security staff at commercial airports between Verdi and BDLS, the association of aviation security companies, ended without results, the union said in an emailed statement. Collective bargaining will continue on March 16 and 17 in Berlin.