Tens of thousands of passengers were set to have their travel plans disrupted again on Thursday due to strikes by aviation security staff at five German airports, according to industry estimates.
According to a spokesman for the trade union verdi, Thursday's all-day strike by aviation security staff at the airports in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Cologne and Berlin had started.
According to estimates by the airport association ADV, more than 580 flights are likely to be cancelled and 90,000 travellers will have to reschedule due to Thursday's action.
On Friday, aviation security staff will then strike in Hanover, Dortmund, Weeze, Dresden and Leipzig and again in Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, according to (dpa).
At Munich Airport, verdi has also called on employees in personnel and goods control as well as cargo control to strike from 4 am (0300 GMT) on Thursday until 6 am on Friday. This mainly affects cargo.
The collective bargaining in aviation security concerns the working conditions of around 25,000 employees of private security service providers.
They check passengers, staff and baggage at the entrances to the security area on behalf of Germany's Federal Police.
Five rounds of negotiations have so far failed to produce a result.
Verdi is demanding an hourly wage increase of 2.80 ($3.05), phased in over a period of 12 months, with overtime bonuses starting more quickly from the first hour of overtime.
