The German news agency (dpa) reported that all departing flights in Berlin and 70 out of 240 arriving flights were cancelled. Hamburg Airport announced early in the morning that 31 out of 160 departures had been canceled due to the strike announced at short notice by the Verdi trade union.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that the strikes began at 3:30 a.m. and were supposed to last until midnight.
The union wants to put more pressure on employers with whom it negotiates bonuses for special hours worked, for example on weekends, and overtime pay rules.
The union has staged frequent strikes over recent months to stress its demands, with local transport, hospitals and other public services being hit.
Over the weekend, German government officials and trade unions reached a wage deal for more than 2.5 million public sector workers, ending a long-running dispute and distancing the possibility of all-out strikes. But the agreement did not include airport employees.
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