"Serious air travel problems are expected in Germany over the summer," said Transport Minister Volker Wissing, referring to "a huge challenge for everyone". "Chaotic" predicts that the situation will be the vice-president of the trade union Ver.di. Christine Belle.
The situation at the airports is not expected to improve soon, with many cancellations and flight delays, Mr. Vising told BILD. "The situation in the European air traffic system is a huge challenge for everyone," said the Minister of Transport, noting that the lack of qualified staff is increasingly affecting everyday life.
As he explains, the airlines made big staff cuts during the pandemic and now they are unable to cope with the increased demand.
On the workers' side, Ver.di vice-president Christine Belle, who is also Lufthansa vice-president of the supervisory board, told the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung that "the summer will be chaotic" as the situation worsens. "The reason is the forced European competition at the airports and the staff cuts of 30-40%," he says.
The lockdown of the pandemic period led to the termination of part-time work and many layoffs, while many workers sought employment in other sectors. This staff is now largely missing, when bookings increase, Ms. Belle explains and predicts that "the situation will be dramatic."
Maria Lynchoff, president of the Association of Travel Agents, described the conditions at German airports as "simply unbelievable". People's desire for travel, as he tells BILD, is not surprising, but two years of cuts "are now taking their revenge". So close to the summer season, we should expect the worst, he adds.
For their part, airlines are defending themselves. Matthias von Radoff, CEO of the German Aviation Association, said that "governments have decided to lift travel restrictions in a very short time" and that there was no credible plan for staffing the companies and restarting traffic.
For weeks, however, problems have been felt at German airports. Lufthansa alone intends to cancel 900 flights from Munich and Frankfurt for July.
The most serious problems are expected at the airports of Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin, while the situation looks a bit better in Munich, where the security personnel do not belong to a private company, but to a company from the state of Bavaria.
Source: ΑΠΕ ΜΠΕ
