Strikes: Passengers see flights cancelled at Düsseldorf and Cologne-Bonn airports

Passengers at Cologne and Düsseldorf airports are likely to face severe disruption on Monday after the Verdi trade union initiated warning strikes. 

At Cologne/Bonn airport, several staff began strike action on Sunday evening, while in Düsseldorf, industrial action kicked off in the early hours of Monday. The strikes are set to last 24 hours - until late Monday evening.

This is expected to lead to the cancellation or significant delays of many flights planned for Monday. Passengers are advised to seek information before travelling. 

In Cologne alone, more than 100 flights could be affected. Early figures indicate that 106 scheduled passenger flights - comprising 53 departures and 53 arrivals - may not proceed as planned.

Düsseldorf Airport, the largest in North Rhine-Westphalia, is also expecting the strikes to have a "considerable impact", with at least 30 percent of the planned 334 take-offs and landings set to be cancelled.

The status of arriving and departing flights at the Cologne-Bonn Airport can be checked here, and those from Düsseldorf can be found here.

Affected passengers may be entitled to compensation if their flight is delayed more than three hours, or cancelled less than 14 days before departure.

In a statement shared with The Local, co-founder of the airline compensation service SkyRefund, Ivaylo Danailov, said, "If your flight is cancelled and you choose to be reimbursed, you are legally entitled to a full refund for both your cancelled flight and your return flight because you were unable to reach your destination..."

Air passenger rights are covered by EU Regulations and affected passengers could receive up to €600.

READ ALSO: What are your rights in Germany if a flight is delayed or cancelled?

The union has warned that critical operations such as baggage handling, aircraft servicing on the tarmac, and check-in procedures will face severe disruptions.

Düsseldorf International is Germany's fourth largest airport. More than 19 million passengers passed through the airport in 2023.

Cologne-Bonn is the sixth-largest airport and the third largest German airport for freight shipping.

READ ALSO: LISTED - The new destinations you can fly to from Germany this spring

Why is Verdi bringing strikes to the airports?

These strikes by some airport staff come as part of a broader strikes among public sector workers that have already affected kindergartens, municipal offices, public transportation and hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia, and across the country.

According to Verdi, many airport workers are also included in collective agreement for public service workers. For example, in Düsseldorf this includes employees in administration, check-in, aircraft handling, passenger and crew transport and baggage handling.

A second round of wage negotiations was held last week in the eastern city of Potsdam, but ended without resolution.

Verdi's regional director suggests that airport employees have taken on increasing workloads and growing pressure due to staff shortages.

In recent negotiations for public sector employees Verdi has demanded wage increases of eight percent or at least €350, three additional days off, and higher bonuses for certain kinds of work.

The next collective bargaining round is scheduled for March 14th.