Air transport strikes in Germany leads to cancelled flights

SWISS is cancelling a number of flights between Switzerland and some German cities Keystone / Caroline Brehman

Swiss International Air Lines is cancelling a number of flights between Switzerland and some German cities. Affected are primarily flights between Munich and Frankfurt, while the airline is currently assessing the impact of the strikes in other cities. Road and rail traffic is said to also be affected.

SWISS is cancelling all flights between Switzerland and Munich on Sunday and Monday as well as all flights to and from Frankfurt on Monday due to strikes by transport worker staff in Germany.

Flights to Berlin are not affected by the strike and will go ahead as planned, said Michael Stief, the airline’s media spokesperson.

Flights from Switzerland to Dresden, Dusseldorf, Hanover, Hamburg, Nuremberg and Stuttgart are still being assessed, he told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

Swiss stated they will contact all passengers who provided a phone number or email address in their booking. Passengers who booked flights through a travel agent are requested to contact the travel agency directly for further information.

German trade unions are demanding a 10.5% wage increase, or a minimum increase of €500 (CHF497 or $543) per month, so that the lowest earners can benefit the most.

Unions have called on members in all areas of the transport sector to go on nationwide strikes on Monday. In addition to flight cancellations, rail transport, waterways, ports and the motorway institutions are also affected. In some locations strikes are set to begin as soon as Sunday.

On Thursday, the spokesperson for the German railway, Deutsche Bahn AG, announced that it would completely stop long-distance train transport on Monday and there will “no trains running for the most part” in regional traffic, the Deutsche Bahn AG said.

Swiss Federal Railways is replacing numerous cross-border trains due to the rail strike in Germany – but only within Switzerland. Cancellations may start as soon as Sunday and could last until Tuesday, a Swiss Federal Railways spokesperson said on Thursday. They advise against train travelling to Germany during this time.