Due to the strike that the Verdi union is calling for at seven German airports on Friday, February 17, 2023, Germany's largest airport, Frankfurt am Main, will be closed to passenger flight operations.

Verdi calls on Friday at the airports in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Hanover, Bremen, Frankfurt and Munich, workers in three professional groups called for a walkout. The hanseatic and the Bavarian airport have already announced that no flight operations can take place due to the industrial action.

An IT glitch going through "digging away" a data line, which was used by Lufthansa, caused the collapse of Lufthansa flight operations on Wednesday. Air traffic control diverted certain machines to other airports for Frankfurt. Despite the chaotic conditions that prevailed in Germany on Wednesday, the Verdi union is sticking to its strike plans. Frankfurt am Main will therefore not be able to handle any passenger flights due to the strike and will only be available in emergency operations.

"Industrial action aimed at shutting down seven airports for the whole day and thus affecting domestic German air traffic over a large area and a large number of international connections, go far beyond the scope of a warning strike and are completely inappropriate. The fact that more than 295.000 air travelers have to suffer from the conflict on Friday is unacceptable. Solutions must be found at the negotiating table and not at the expense of the passengers,” says Ralph Beisel, General Manager of the Airport Association ADV. “The airports are currently operating in an extremely tense economic environment. Every strike-related cancellation of traffic hits the aviation industry hard in a phase in which companies are just recovering from the high losses of the Corona period.