Up to 80 per cent of Lufthansa Airline flight programme will be affected between March 6 evening and March 9 morning (Central European Time) as German ground staff at Deutsche Lufthansa , Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo and other companies go on strike.

A notification from the airline states that flights operating from Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Cologne and Hamburg airports will not be possible during this period.

Frankfurt airport, Germany’s busiest, will also be closed to passengers with planned departures today (March 7) due to a security staff strike organised by Germany’s Verdi union.

With the strikes coinciding with ITB Berlin 2024, a travel tradeshow attended by the world’s travel and tourism professionals, some overseas exhibitors and participants have chosen to cut short their attendance and leave the city on March 6 or by the morning of March 7, especially those with urgent commitments in the coming days and could ill afford being stuck in Berlin.

Furthermore, the country’s train drivers with Deutsche Bahn have also walked out of their duties starting today, impacting rail services at varying extent from region to region. The Berlin S-Bahn will deploy an emergency schedule during this period, and commuters have been warned that vehicles would be packed and waiting times would be extended.

This has caused delays in ITB Berlin attendees reporting to the venue on March 7. Within the Asia-Pacific halls, for instance, many booths were still missing representatives and buyers at half an hour past the 10.00 opening of business appointments.

A Middle Eastern exhibitor, who declined to be named, expressed concerns yesterday of a possible poor buyer turnout on March 7, the last day of the event.

However, several Asian sellers remain upbeat on March 7 morning, saying potential business loss would be minimal since it was common for most buyers to pack their meetings and appointments into the first two days of the tradeshow; the bulk of their appointments have been fulfilled.

Anxious show attendees have earlier flocked the massive Lufthansa Group stand, which also houses representatives of Eurowings, Brussels Airlines, and Edelwiess, to enquire about their flights and rebooking procedures, prompting the aviation company to put up notices at its reception to inform guests that rebooking services are not possible onsite.

According to local news reports, disgruntled staff are demanding higher pay and better work conditions.