Relief for travellers to and from Germany’s capital region: Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) and the ver.di union sealed a new wage agreement on 30 April 2026, heading off the threat of fresh industrial action in May. The deal covers some 6,000 employees of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH and runs from 1 March 2026 to 31 December 2027.
![Berlin Brandenburg Airport Clinches Wage Deal, Averting New Strikes]()
Travellers needing last-minute visas or residence permits in connection with flights through BER can streamline the paperwork online with VisaHQ’s Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/). The platform’s intuitive wizard, document checks and courier options help both holidaymakers and corporate mobility teams secure the correct travel authorisations quickly—valuable peace of mind should any residual schedule changes arise while the new wage agreement takes effect.
Key points include a back-dated one-off payment of €100 for March and April (or €50 for apprentices) and a 2.5 per cent pay rise—minimum €115—effective May 2026. A further 2.2 per cent increase will kick in from May 2027, while night-shift and firefighting allowances rise by five percentage points in July 2027. Separate accords were also reached for the airport fire brigade and trainee cohorts. Management hailed the compromise as a "win-win" that gives the company cost certainty while rewarding staff for maintaining operations during last month’s short-lived warning strike. For airlines and ground-handling agents the agreement removes the spectre of walkouts during the busy Pentecost travel period, when BER typically handles 90,000 passengers per day. Business travellers should nonetheless remain vigilant: parallel wage talks continue in Germany’s aviation security sector, and any spill-over disputes could still trigger spot disruptions at checkpoints. HR mobility teams booking summer relocation flights via BER should factor in the airport’s published contingency plan, which guarantees minimum service levels even in the event of partial labour unrest. Longer term, the settlement may ease Ryanair’s criticism of BER’s labour cost base after the low-cost carrier announced plans this week to wind down its Berlin base. Airport management hopes the calmer industrial climate will help attract new carriers to replace lost capacity and stabilise connection options for corporate flyers.
Travellers needing last-minute visas or residence permits in connection with flights through BER can streamline the paperwork online with VisaHQ’s Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/). The platform’s intuitive wizard, document checks and courier options help both holidaymakers and corporate mobility teams secure the correct travel authorisations quickly—valuable peace of mind should any residual schedule changes arise while the new wage agreement takes effect.
Key points include a back-dated one-off payment of €100 for March and April (or €50 for apprentices) and a 2.5 per cent pay rise—minimum €115—effective May 2026. A further 2.2 per cent increase will kick in from May 2027, while night-shift and firefighting allowances rise by five percentage points in July 2027. Separate accords were also reached for the airport fire brigade and trainee cohorts. Management hailed the compromise as a "win-win" that gives the company cost certainty while rewarding staff for maintaining operations during last month’s short-lived warning strike. For airlines and ground-handling agents the agreement removes the spectre of walkouts during the busy Pentecost travel period, when BER typically handles 90,000 passengers per day. Business travellers should nonetheless remain vigilant: parallel wage talks continue in Germany’s aviation security sector, and any spill-over disputes could still trigger spot disruptions at checkpoints. HR mobility teams booking summer relocation flights via BER should factor in the airport’s published contingency plan, which guarantees minimum service levels even in the event of partial labour unrest. Longer term, the settlement may ease Ryanair’s criticism of BER’s labour cost base after the low-cost carrier announced plans this week to wind down its Berlin base. Airport management hopes the calmer industrial climate will help attract new carriers to replace lost capacity and stabilise connection options for corporate flyers.
