LAST UPDATE | 10 Mar 2025

STRIKE ACTION HAS grounded thousands of flights in Germany, with most German flights departing or arriving at Dublin airport cancelled.

Some 3,500 flights have been affected by the industrial action, impacting around 560,000 passengers, the German airport association ADV said.

The ADV has said it is “experiencing an unprecedented strike at 13 German airports, which is almost completely paralyzing air traffic”.

“Since most flights are cross-border, this strike is also having an impact on European and global air traffic,” said the ADV.

“Connections to other countries are being interrupted, which is leading to a domino effect.”

The strike action comes are the service sector union in Germany called on workers to walk out for better pay.

At Frankfurt, the country’s busiest airport, operator Fraport said no passengers would be able to board and that disruptions would “almost certainly” affect transit travel, according to German daily Bild.

Three flights from Frankfurt were due to land in Dublin today, while one was due to depart from Dublin, and all these flights have been cancelled.

All connections to and from Berlin have also been cancelled – two flights were due to depart from Dublin to Berlin today, and four were due to arrive.

Airports in Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart are also affected.

There are no direct flight routes between Dublin and Bremen, Dortmund, Hanover, Leipzig, or Stuttgart.

A Ryanair flight from Cologne to Dublin this morning is on schedule, and three flights to and from Dusseldorf are also running to schedule.

An Aer Lingus flight from Hamburg this morning was cancelled, but a Ryanair flight from the same airport is on schedule.

Meanwhile, an Aer Lingus flight to Munich this afternoon has been cancelled while an evening Lufthansa flight is on schedule, and two Aer Lingus flights from Munich to Dublin have been cancelled but the Lufthansa arrival from Munich is on schedule.

The Verdi union said Friday it was calling on public sector workers and some 23,000 employees of ground handling service providers to walk out to send a message to management.

“We regret the inconvenience that this strike will cause for passengers,” said the union’s deputy chair Christine Behle.

“But without the pressure of industrial action, there will be no movement in the negotiations.”

The union’s demands include a pay rise of eight percent or at least €350 more per month, and higher bonuses for particularly stressful activities.

The union said that “we are forced to go on this warning strike because the employers have not yet made an offer in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations for public sector employees and have shown no willingness to meet our legitimate demands.”

The ADV todat called for a “reform of the right to strike for critical infrastructure”.

“It is necessary to create legal regulations that ensure that strikes at airports can only be carried out under certain conditions and with adequate advance notice,” said the ADV.

“Such a reform would help to maintain the balance between the interests of workers and the needs of the general public and the economy.”

-With additional reporting from © AFP 2025