BERLIN – Strikes will ground more than 1,100 flights on Feb 1 at some of Germany’s biggest airports, including global hub Frankfurt, in the latest wave of industrial action by transport workers.

Labour union Verdi has called for strikes by security staff at airports across Germany as it tries to raise pressure on the government in wage talks.

Almost 200,000 passengers will be affected by the flight cancellations or delays, German airport association ADV said on Jan 31.

In Frankfurt, security checkpoints at the transit area will remain closed, airport operator Fraport said in a statement, adding that “it is, therefore, not possible to board flights”.

All passengers who had planned to start their journey in Frankfurt should not come to the airport, Fraport said.

A spokesman for Berlin Brandenburg Airport said all departures would be cancelled on Feb 1, but that flights would go back to normal on Feb 2 at the start of the winter holidays in Germany’s capital.

The airports of Hamburg, Stuttgart and Hanover said they would take similar measures. REUTERS