Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s second busiest, shut down on Friday afternoon for people whose flights originated from the hub after thousands of security personnel walked off the job to press demands for higher wages.
Germany’s national carrier Lufthansa condemned the strike as “completely unacceptable”, noting that it was doing its best to assist stranded passengers.
Airport spokesman Robert Payne said about half of the airport’s fliers are transfer passengers, and their flights are not affected.
But, in light of the “massive strike action”, he said that the airport had no alternative but to close part of its operations because it did not have the security personnel to process passengers whose flights originated from the airport. The only busier European airport is London’s Heathrow.
Payne said that only 74 out of 1,300 flights have been cancelled, though many were flying only partially filled because of the decision.
Ver.di union, which represents some 5,000 private security workers at the airport, said that they went on strike at 2 am local time and were to stay off the job until 11 pm in a warning strike to press their demands for an hourly wage of 16 euros (USD 22). Employers are offering between 10 to 13 euros per hour.
Short—term strikes are a common practice in Germany for unions to put pressure on employers. The two sides are next scheduled to negotiate on March 5.
Lufthansa urged authorities to prevent such strikes in future, warning that it may not be able to guarantee regular operations in Germany if the strategy becomes the norm among the many unions involved in the air travel business.