Flights delayed as Geneva airport workers go on strike
flights from Geneva airport were delayed and some were cancelled during the holiday rush Sunday, as dozens of ground staff went on strike over a wage dispute.
The workers began their strike at 4:00 am (0300 GMT) to protest conditions provided by their employer, the Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata).
Dnata personnel, who handle about a fifth of the traffic through Cointrin airport, were striking to demand «dignified working conditions and decent wages», the SSP public sector union said on X, formerly Twitter.
Around 80 strikers gathered in front of the airport before dawn, wearing bright yellow safety vests and brandishing union flags and posters with messages like: «Dnata is killing me» and «Precarious work means grounded flights».
The airport acknowledged that the work stoppage was delaying flights during the busy Christmas rush.
«Some of the employees of a service provider are on strike today, causing an impact on our operations,» it said in a statement, apologising to passengers for the inconvenience.
Airport spokesman Ignace Jeannerat stressed that there were no problems facing flights not assisted by Dnata personnel.
«A majority of operations are going very smoothly,» he told AFP.
Luggage left behind
Dnata reportedly counts around 600 staff at the airport, who handle various ground operations, including ticketing services and baggage handling, for a number of international airlines such as British Airways, Air France and KLM.
Jeannerat said Dnata had been tasked with assisting 85 of the 417 flights scheduled for Sunday, a day when the Geneva airport was expecting 52,000 passengers to travel through.
All flights being handled by Dnata's competitor Swissport «are functioning normally… Zero problems,»
