Host Nation Update, March. 13, 2024
Strike – No departures from Stuttgart Airport on Thursday
The ongoing wave of strikes in the transport sector continues. On Thursday, passengers who wanted to start their journey at Stuttgart Airport will have to reschedule. Security staff have been called out on strike by the trade union Verdi and will be laying down their work for the whole day. As a result, the airport company has canceled all departures from Stuttgart on Thursday.
The operating company said it regretted the impact the strike would have on passengers. Originally, 159 departures and arrivals had been planned for Thursday at Manfred Rommel Airport. The last time security staff in Stuttgart went on strike was on February 1. Not only travelers who wanted to take off from Stuttgart could be affected by the new strike. “As strikes are also being called at other airports, arrivals may also be delayed or canceled,” says a statement from the airport company. It recommends that travelers “check the status of their flight and contact their airline or tour providers.”
Verdi wants to increase the pressure in the ongoing wage negotiations for the approximately 25,000 employees in the sector. The employer must “finally present a significantly improved offer that can be agreed”. No agreement has been reached between the bargaining parties in the five rounds to date – the next round of negotiations will take place on March 20. The collective bargaining in aviation security concerns the working conditions of around 25,000 employees of private security service providers. They check passengers, staff and baggage at the entrances to the security area on behalf of the Federal Police. Five rounds of negotiations in the wage dispute have so far failed to produce a result. Verdi is demanding an hourly wage increase of 2.80 euros over a period of twelve months, with overtime bonuses starting more quickly from the first round. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Mar 13, 2024)
Expansion of the A 81 Autobahn near Böblingen
It is a mammoth project: the six-lane expansion of the A 81 near Böblingen over a total length of 7.2 kilometers. Eleven new bridges, more than 3.5 kilometers of noise barriers and an 850-meter-long tunnel are being built.
One of the largest projects in the course of the expansion is the 850-metre-long tunnel – the covering of the Autobahn – between Böblingen and Sindelfingen near the Goldberg S-Bahn station. The crossing at Leipziger Straße, popularly known as the “Elephant Bridge”, is located roughly in the middle of the planned tunnel. Preparations for the building began last summer and cars are currently being guided past the construction site on two temporary lanes. The original plan was for the first cars to roll through the tunnel at the end of 2026. This will not happen, as the POC Kuhn explained last summer. He stood by this assessment, however, remained confident that traffic “will be in the tunnel in the first quarter of 2027”. The district is contributing nine percent to the tunnel expansion, which amounted to around twelve million euros in 2020. For the expansion of the Sindelfingen-Ost junction, the share is 13 percent and thus, also as of 2020, around 4.6 million euros. In the coming months, the focus of the Autobahn expansion will be on the eastern section of the A 81, roughly between the Goldberg S-Bahn station and the Sindelfingen junction. (Stgt Nachrichten, Mar 13, 2024)
Weather in Baden-Württemberg: 20 degrees expected in parts of Baden-Württemberg on Thursday
People in Baden-Württemberg can look forward to spring-like weather on Thursday. The German Weather Service (DWD) is forecasting up to 20 degrees in the Upper Rhine Graben. According to the DWD, the 20-degree mark has not been reached so far this year. The weather service also predicted plenty of sunshine throughout the state on Thursday. There could be some rain again on Friday. Temperatures are expected to reach up to 18 degrees, according to the DWD. There could be isolated thunderstorms on Saturday night. According to the DWD, it will be very cloudy during the day with temperatures of up to 16 degrees. (Stgt Nachrichten, Mar 13, 2024)
Injured after fire at the SI Center in Stuttgart – Möhringen
On Tuesday afternoon, the fire department was called out to a fire at the SI Center in Stuttgart-Möhringen, which caused massive smoke development. Two people were slightly injured in the fire. According to Daniel Anand, spokesman for the Stuttgart fire department, the automatic fire alarm went off at around 2.50 pm. The fire broke out in a technical room in the building, which houses the musical and Schwabenquellen. This had resulted in heavy smoke development. The smoke reached beyond the tenth floor. The emergency services were able to extinguish the fire quickly, but as several rooms were affected by the smoke, large parts of the building had to be evacuated, checked and ventilated. This took until around 5.30 pm. People were then able to re-enter the building. The two people, who had suffered mild smoke inhalation, were treated by the emergency services and went to hospital on their own. The musical was able to continue on Tuesday evening. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Mar 13, 2024)