Germany's Hamburg airport shuts terminal as strike leads to overcrowding

Germany's Hamburg airport temporarily shut its terminal building on Monday morning after a strike by security staff caused overcrowding. The airport said police closed the doors for two hours after queues of up to five hours for security checks built up.

"Passengers have little chance of making their flights today," a spokeswoman said, adding the building was re-opened shortly before 0900 GMT. The 24 hour strike was called by trade union Verdi as it tries to increase pressure over stalled wage negotiations in three German federal states.

Security staff are also on strike at Stuttgart and Hanover airports throughout the day. Stuttgart airport said on its website passengers should expect waiting times of between 1.5-2 hours for security checks, while the smaller Hanover airport said there were no delays.

Airlines have cancelled over 100 flights at Hamburg, which would usually handle just over 400 flights on Monday. Germany's largest airline Lufthansa has cancelled 18 domestic flights between Hamburg and its main hubs of Frankfurt and Munich due to the strikes.

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