Strike at German airports causes cancellations

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BERLIN (AP) — A strike by security personnel at eight German airports, including Frankfurt, a major hub of connections in Europe, led to flight cancellations and widespread air traffic complications on Tuesday.

The ver.di union called the all-day strike in Frankfurt — the busiest airport in the country — as well as Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Cologne-Bonn, ahead of a round of wage negotiations with employers scheduled for Thursday. Last week, stoppages were held at several airports.

In Frankfurt, 108 of the 790 flights scheduled for the day had been canceled on Tuesday morning, according to the German news agency dpa. Passengers who had to start their journeys at the airport were unable to board, although travelers with stopovers could continue their routes.

The 88 scheduled departures in Hamburg were canceled.

Security checks at German airports are supervised by the federal police, but they are largely managed by private companies. Security officers in Bavaria collect wages according to an agreement for public service workers and are not on strike.

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