Private flights to the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which begins on Friday, are exempt from the cessation of regular flight operations at Munich Airport. “All private flights registered for the MSC will be accepted and processed,” said an airport spokesman on Thursday after the Verdi union announced its strike. Participants who had booked a scheduled flight would have to rebook accordingly.
According to the airport, more than 700 take-offs and landings and around 90,000 passengers are affected by the discontinued passenger operations on Friday. However, in addition to flights to the security conference, relief flights and flights for medical, technical and other emergencies are excluded.
More than 50 private flights to the security conference are currently expected on Friday, the airport spokesman said. Some participants also used Thursday to travel there. US Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Munich in the morning.
According to the union, the Munich Security Conference was not a factor in the decision to go on strike. “It’s actually a coincidence. That was not a size at all in the planning,” said a spokesman for Verdi Bayern. After all, there will also be a strike on Friday where no security conference is taking place. The union had also called for work stoppages at the airports in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen.
With this, the employees want to give emphasis to the demands in the collective bargaining dispute between the federal and local governments. In the negotiations, Verdi and the civil servants’ association DBB are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more for the approximately 2.5 million employees. The term should be twelve months. The employers have rejected the claims. The second round of negotiations is scheduled for February 22nd and 23rd in Potsdam.
