Turkish Airlines cancels flights to Germany’s Stuttgart over strikes

ISTANBUL : National flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) announced that the flights scheduled for Germany’s Stuttgart for Friday were mutually canceled due to the strike at Stuttgart Airport.

“TK 1703 Istanbul-Stuttgart, TK 1704 Stuttgart-Istanbul, TK 1701 Istanbul-Stuttgart, TK 1702 Stuttgart-Istanbul, TK 1705 Istanbul Stuttgart, TK 1706 Stuttgart-Istanbul flights and AnadoluJet’s TK 7750 Sabiha Gökçen-Stuttgart, TK 7751 Stuttgart-Sabiha Gökçen Airport flights, which were supposed to fly on March 17 are canceled,” read the statement issued by THY press office.

Stuttgart Airport announced on Wednesday that the Verdi union’s strike call would result in no scheduled flights operating on Friday. Only safety landings as well as medical or military aviation will operate.

A total of 169 flights were scheduled for Friday. Some 20,000 passengers will be affected by the strike. Besides Stuttgart Airport, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport will also be affected by a daily strike. The strikes come on the heels of the ongoing wage negotiations.

Stuttgart Airport operations were already affected due to a strike on Feb. 17 when 160 flights were canceled.

Earlier, THY’s Istanbul-Athens flights have also been canceled because of the strike that is taking place in Greece on Thursday.

“Due to the strike of air traffic controllers in Greece tomorrow, Turkish Airlines (THY) has canceled all flights to the country,” the press office said Wednesday.

The canceled flights include TK1843/TK1844 Istanbul-Athens-Istanbul, TK1849/TK1850 Istanbul-Athens-Istanbul, TK1845/TK1846 Istanbul-Athens-Istanbul, TK1881/TK1882 Istanbul-Thessaloniki-Istanbul.

A general strike in Greece was called in response to grounded flights and extensively disrupted services, as large protests were held nationwide Thursday.

The strike also kept ferries to the Greek islands at the port, left public hospitals running with emergency staff, halted public transport services, and led to class cancellations at state-run schools.

Unions have rallied behind railway workers’ associations that have staged rolling walkouts since the head-on train collision in northern Greece on Feb. 28 that left 57 people dead and dozens injured.

The largest protests were held in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, and in the capital Athens, where thousands chanted, “this crime will not be forgotten,” as they reached a police cordon outside a private rail operator.

Stores and banks lowered their shutters when the protesters filed past as the capital was brought to a standstill. Various labor associations – representing lawyers to delivery drivers – joined the strike.

Courtesy: Dailysabah