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Swiss air traffic controllers call strike for late July

Air traffic controllers in Geneva and at a number of other regional Swiss airports say they will strike in late July in industrial action which could cause major headaches for holidaymakers.

Published: 10 July 2018 11:41 CEST
Swiss air traffic controllers call strike for late July
Geneva Airport would be worst affected by the strike. File photo: AFP

The strike by members of Switzerland's Skycontrol union is set to begin on July 23rd, right in the middle of the busy holiday season. 

It is set to last a week although the union warns it could go on longer if demands over pay and conditions are not met.

Read also: Passengers 'forgotten' on tarmac at Geneva Airport

Air passengers in the Lake Geneva region would be worst-hit by the strike but it would also affect operations at five regional airports including Bern and Lugano. 

The strike would also have an impact on flight operations Europe-wide, according to Swiss daily Tribune de Genève.

The planned industrial action comes after Skycontrol members overwhelming rejected a new collective bargaining agreement with state-owned Skyguide which manages and monitors Swiss airspace. 

Skycontrol president Maximilien Turrettini says more air traffic controllers are needed. Meanwhile, union members are demanding 125 days off a year and salary increases of 1.8 percent a year for three years, or an equivalent number of days off. 

Strikes are relatively uncommon in Switzerland but unions are known to threaten to down tools as a tactic during negotiations over pay and conditions. 

Read also: Swiss police issue warning for parents travelling alone with kids

For members

STRIKES

How German rail and air travel strikes will hit cross-border travel to Switzerland

German train drivers and Lufthansa cabin crew members are set to walk out in strikes this week. Here's how it could affect your travel plans to or from Switzerland.

Published: 11 March 2024 13:29 CET
How German rail and air travel strikes will hit cross-border travel to Switzerland

Not a week has gone by without a strike or two being called in Germany recently. And there’s more misery ahead for passengers as rail and air travel is to be impacted in simultaneous industrial action this week. 

The German GDL Train Drivers’ Union said its latest members’ strike affecting passenger rail services would start at 2am on Tuesday March 12th and last until 2am on Wednesday, March 13th.

For cargo services the strike is set to start a few hours earlier, the union said in a statement.

It comes after a 35-hour train drivers’ strike in Germany last week which paralysed the network on Thursday and part of Friday. It is the union’s sixth walkout since November in the dispute for more pay and fewer working hours. 

The GDL union blamed the latest strike on deadlocked talks with rail operator Deutsche Bahn.

Adding to the chaos, Lufthansa cabin crew are set to walk off the job at Frankfurt airport on Tuesday March 12th, and at Munich airport on Wednesday March 13th in a strike called by the UFO trade union.

The German airline group was already hit by a two-day strike by ground staff last week as the Verdi union demanded higher pay for its members. This action affected hundreds of thousands of passengers. 

How will the latest strike affect air travellers?

If you have a flight booked with Lufthansa to or from Switzerland during the strike, you may be affected. 

You might have already received a message from the airline operator telling you about the strike and the next steps to rebook or to get refunded. 

According to Frankfurt airport’s information page, some flights to Geneva, Basel and Zurich scheduled on Tuesday have already been cancelled, with return flights also affected. 

It was not possible on Monday to see which flights have been cancelled to and from Munich on Wednesday.  

How will the strike affect train passengers?

As you would expect, people in Germany are going to be hit the hardest in the strike affecting passenger services from the early hours of Tuesday until 2am Wednesday.

Although an emergency timetable is usually put in place, around 80 percent of rail services nationwide have been cancelled in previous train drivers’ strikes. 

Long-distance trains and regional transport is disrupted, although the availability of regional services varies between different areas. 

But it’s not only domestic German travel affected – international long-distance services are usually hit too. In previous strikes, four out of five Deutsche Bahn long distance and international trains have been cancelled. 

SBB Deutschland, which operates services in Germany and the cantons of Basel-City and Schaffhausen in Switzerland, said: “The train drivers of SBB Deutschland themselves are not on strike. Nevertheless, operations depend on the dispatchers and other professional groups of the infrastructure operator DB Netz AG as well as their tracks and systems. If they stop working, our trains will also come to a standstill.”

SBB Deutschland said they hope services can run according to the regular timetable but pointed out that special services the operator ran between Freiburg and Basel during previous strikes “cannot be offered due to the short notice”.

Rail operators have urged people to check the status of their connections in advance and if affected to travel on a different date.

You can check strike developments on the SBB’s website here and the Deutsche Bahn website here.

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland beats Germany for reliable trains

What are the strikes about?

As well as salary increases, the GDL Train Drivers’ Union’s key demand is a reduced work week of 35 hours, down from 38 currently, at full pay.

The UFO union is fighting for wage increases for Lufthansa cabin crew members amid rising inflation, and maintains that the offers from management so far are not good enough.

Although Switzerland is used to strong industrial action talking place in neighbouring countries – notably France as well as Germany, the Swiss generally do not have a striking culture.

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