Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung

The Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung e.V. (GdF) is a German trade union founded in 2004 and headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It organises employees whose work involves monitoring or directing the movement of aircraft in the air or on the ground, or who are otherwise connected with that activity. Its membership is drawn mainly from air traffic controllers, flight data processors, apron controllers, air navigation service technicians and instructors, as well as administrative staff in the relevant companies. The union describes its represented occupational groups as typical functional elites in labour law terms. The GdF's organisational territory covers the Federal Republic of Germany and the area of the European Union. Internally it is divided into three specialist sections: Flugsicherungsbetriebsdienste (FSBD, air navigation operational services), Flugsicherungstechnische Dienste (FSTD, air navigation technical services) and Flugsicherung allgemeine Dienste (FSAD, air navigation general services). Members organise at the lowest level in local specialist-section members' assemblies, which elect delegates for two-year terms in proportion to membership strength. Those delegates form the annual Bundesfachbereichskonferenz and, as the union's highest body, the Bundesdelegiertenkonferenz. A Bundesvorstand elected by the Bundesdelegiertenkonferenz leads the union in accordance with its statutes and members' decisions. The union emerged from dissatisfaction among staff organised in the Verband Deutscher Flugleiter (VDF) and the Verband Deutscher Flugsicherungs-Techniker und -Ingenieure (FTI), whose interests had been represented through a cooperation agreement with the Deutsche Angestellten Gewerkschaft (DAG). In 2001 and 2002 those members felt their specific interests were no longer adequately represented in DAG (later ver.di) collective bargaining. After a collective agreement in 2003 that they regarded as insufficient, the GdF was founded, seeking bargaining independence on the model of the pilots' association Vereinigung Cockpit. It has since concluded collective agreements with a range of companies. Internationally the GdF is a member or advisory body in numerous specialist associations, including EASA and IFATCA. It publishes the bimonthly specialist magazine flugleiter with a print run of 3,500 copies, and operates the podcast GdF on Air as well as Read You 5, a podcast produced with Vereinigung Cockpit. Its bargaining partners include DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, DFS Aviation Services GmbH, Fraport AG and numerous German airports such as München, Augsburg, Friedrichshafen, Kassel, Frankfurt-Hahn, Paderborn-Lippstadt, Baden Airpark, Braunschweig-Wolfsburg and the special airfield Hamburg-Finkenwerder.

The Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung e.V. (GdF) was founded in 2004 and has its seat in Frankfurt am Main. Its organisational territory extends over the Federal Republic of Germany and the area of the European Union. In labour law, the occupational groups it represents are typical functional elites. Before the GdF existed, the interests of air navigation employees were represented by the Verband Deutscher Flugleiter (VDF) and the Verband Deutscher Flugsicherungs-Techniker und -Ingenieure (FTI) through a cooperation agreement with the Deutsche Angestellten Gewerkschaft (DAG). In 2001 and 2002, employees organised in the VDF and FTI felt that their specific interests were no longer adequately represented in the DAG's (later ver.di's) collective bargaining. After a collective agreement in 2003 that they regarded as insufficient, the GdF was founded, seeking bargaining independence on the model of the Vereinigung Cockpit. The union has since concluded collective agreements in various companies. The GdF's organisational scope covers all establishments and companies in which the movement of aircraft in the air or on the ground is monitored or directed, or which are connected with that activity. The employees it represents are predominantly air traffic controllers, flight data processors, apron controllers, air navigation service technicians and teaching staff, but also administrative employees of the relevant establishments. The union is divided into three specialist sections: Flugsicherungsbetriebsdienste (FSBD), Flugsicherungstechnische Dienste (FSTD) and Flugsicherung allgemeine Dienste (FSAD). Within these, members are organised at the lowest level in local specialist-section members' assemblies. These elect, for two-year terms, a number of delegates measured by their membership strength. The delegates form the annual Bundesfachbereichskonferenz and, as the union's highest body, the Bundesdelegiertenkonferenz. At the head of the GdF stands the Bundesvorstand, elected by the Bundesdelegiertenkonferenz, which conducts the union's business in accordance with the statutes and the decisions of its members. Internationally, the GdF is represented as a member or advisory body in numerous specialist associations, including EASA and IFATCA. To inform members, the specialist magazine flugleiter appears bimonthly with a print run of 3,500 copies. The union's bargaining partners include Augsburger Flughafen GmbH, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, Flughafen Allgäu Airport GmbH & Co KG, Flughafen Baden Airpark GmbH, Flughafen Braunschweig-Wolfsburg GmbH, Flughafen Friedrichshafen GmbH, Flughafen GmbH Kassel, Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn GmbH, Sonderlandeplatz Hamburg-Finkenwerder GmbH, Flughafen München GmbH, Flughafen Paderborn-Lippstadt GmbH, Fraport AG and DFS Aviation Services GmbH.

• 2026

  Delegierten- und Obleutewahlen 2026 (delegate and union representative elections) reported in member information.

• 2004

  Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung e.V. founded, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, seeking bargaining independence on the model of Vereinigung Cockpit.

• 2003

  A collective agreement regarded as insufficient by VDF/FTI members precedes the founding of the GdF.

• 2002

  Continued dissatisfaction with DAG (later ver.di) representation of air navigation staff interests.

• 2001

  Employees organised in VDF and FTI begin to feel their specific interests are inadequately represented in DAG collective bargaining.

A specialised, bargaining-independent trade union for air navigation personnel in Germany and the EU, modelled on the pilots' association Vereinigung Cockpit.

• flugleiter (bimonthly specialist magazine, print run 3,500)

• GdF on Air (podcast)

• Read You 5 (podcast with Vereinigung Cockpit)

1. 1GdF Homegdf.de
2. 2Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung – Wikidatawikidata.org