by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:20 AM ET, Fri March 10, 2017
Almost all of the flights at Berlin, Germany's two major airports were canceled Friday due to strikes organized by ground staff at the facilities.
According to Reuters.com, ground staff members at both Berlin Tegel Airport and Berlin Schonefeld Airport are picketing because they want an increase in pay to 12 Euros an hour (around $12.71) from the current rate of 11 Euros an hour.
Berlin Airport operates both Tegel and Schoenefeld and is reporting 455 flights have been canceled at the former and another 204 canceled at the latter. The strike is expected to last 25 hours before concluding Friday.
Several major carriers have been impacted by the strikes, including Air Berlin, Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair. The organized protests also come as Germany hosts the world's biggest tourism trade fair, the ITB, which is scheduled to end in Berlin on March 12.
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"We are ready for talks at any time, of course also over the weekend, and open for a new offer," trade union Verdi leader Enrico Ruemker told Reuters.
Berlin Airport officials have advised all passengers to call ahead and check their flight statuses with their respective airlines before arriving at Tegel and Schoenefeld airports.
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