FRANKFURT: Thousands of passengers were left stranded at German airports on Tuesday as ground staff and other public sector workers staged walkouts across the country to increase the pressure in a pay dispute.
Lufthansa had said that it was canceling more than 800 of its planned 1,600 flights on Tuesday and Frankfurt airport operator Fraport had warned of disruption.
As well as Frankfurt, Germany’s busiest hub for airlines, airports in Munich, Cologne and Bremen were hit. The industrial action also affected nurseries, rubbish collection services and swimming pools in several German states.
German union Verdi wants a 6 percent pay rise for its 2.3 million public sector employees at the federal and local level. Germany’s federal government and municipalities have rejected that, saying such a rise would force them to outsource jobs.
Some passengers expressed frustration over the delays.
“I’m upset. I’m affected by these strikes too often,” said Roswitha Karl, who was at Frankfurt airport waiting to board a flight to Moldova for a holiday.
“First, there was the pilots’ strike, then the ground staff and then the security staff, it’s a matter of luck,” said Karl.
Airline rebooking counters had a long queue of passengers, while other stranded travelers were waiting in the terminal. While some frantically tried to change their reservations, others took the delays in their stride.
Jana Glaeser had arrived in Frankfurt from Miami and her flight to Berlin was canceled. “Now we’re getting a train ticket instead. Hopefully everything works out,” she said.
In western North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, local transport, public utilities and childcare centers were hit. There were long tailbacks on motorways, and in southern Baden-Wuerttemberg buses and local trains stayed in depots.
“We want to send a clear signal to employers with these massive strikes,” said Frank Bsirske, head of Verdi, Germany’s biggest labor union for service sector employees.
He said the union would escalate the dispute if employers did not present an offer next week. The third round of talks starts on April 15.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is in robust shape, with record tax revenues and a budget surplus. Rising employment, inflation-busting pay rises and low borrowing costs are fueling a consumer-led upswing.
“If not now, when can we have significant increases for all workers, also in the public sector?” said Bsirske.
In the industrial sector, 3.9 million workers agreed on a pay and flexible working hours deal in February that amounted to a roughly 4 percent rise per year for 2018 and 2019. Inflation edged up to 1.5 percent in March.
The European Central Bank is keeping a close eye on the German wage negotiations for any sign that wage growth is picking up, potentially lifting inflation and allowing the ECB to start winding down its massive stimulus program.
Neighboring France has also faced industrial action in the last few weeks in protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s planned reforms.
Hundreds of flights canceled in Germany as airports hit by strikes
Hundreds of flights canceled in Germany as airports hit by strikes
First EU–Saudi roundtable on critical raw materials reflects shared policy commitment
RIYADH: The EU–Saudi Arabia Business and Investment Dialogue on Advancing Critical Raw Materials Value Chains, held in Riyadh as part of the Future Minerals Forum, brought together senior policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to advance strategic cooperation across critical raw materials value chains.
Organized under a Team Europe approach by the EU–GCC Cooperation on Green Transition Project, in coordination with the EU Delegation to Saudi Arabia, the European Chamber of Commerce in the Kingdom and in close cooperation with FMF, the dialogue provided a high-level platform to explore European actions under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and ResourceEU alongside the Kingdom’s aspirations for minerals, industrial, and investment priorities.
This is in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and broader regional ambitions across the GCC, MENA, and Africa.
ResourceEU is the EU’s new strategic action plan, launched in late 2025, to secure a reliable supply of critical raw materials like lithium, rare earths, and cobalt, reducing dependency on single suppliers, such as China, by boosting domestic extraction, processing, recycling, stockpiling, and strategic partnerships with resource-rich nations.
The first ever EU–Saudi roundtable on critical raw materials was opened by the bloc’s Ambassador to the Kingdom, Christophe Farnaud, together with Saudi Deputy Minister for Mining Development Turki Al-Babtain, turning policy alignment into concrete cooperation.
Farnaud underlined the central role of international cooperation in the implementation of the EU’s critical raw materials policy framework.
“As the European Union advances the implementation of its Critical Raw Materials policy, international cooperation is indispensable to building secure, diversified, and sustainable value chains. Saudi Arabia is a key partner in this effort. This dialogue reflects our shared commitment to translate policy alignment into concrete business and investment cooperation that supports the green and digital transitions,” said the ambassador.
Discussions focused on strengthening resilient, diversified, and responsible CRM supply chains that are essential to the green and digital transitions.
Participants explored concrete opportunities for EU–Saudi cooperation across the full value chain, including exploration, mining, and processing and refining, as well as recycling, downstream manufacturing, and the mobilization of private investment and sustainable finance, underpinned by high environmental, social, and governance standards.
From the Saudi side, the dialogue was framed as a key contribution to the Kingdom’s industrial transformation and long-term economic diversification agenda under Vision 2030, with a strong focus on responsible resource development and global market integration.
“Developing globally competitive mineral hubs and sustainable value chains is a central pillar of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s industrial transformation. Our engagement with the European Union through this dialogue to strengthen upstream and downstream integration, attract high-quality investment, and advance responsible mining and processing. Enhanced cooperation with the EU, capitalizing on the demand dynamics of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, will be key to delivering long-term value for both sides,” said Al-Babtain.
Valere Moutarlier, deputy director-general for European industry decarbonization, and directorate-general for the internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs at European Commission, said the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and ResourceEU provided a clear framework to strengthen Europe’s resilience while deepening its cooperation with international partners.
“Cooperation with Saudi Arabia is essential to advancing secure, sustainable, and diversified critical raw materials value chains. Dialogues such as this play a key role in translating policy ambitions into concrete industrial and investment cooperation,” she added.
