air traffic
Relatively quiet location at Hamburg Airport
Planes at Hamburg Airport, where there was no chaos on Saturday. Photo: Bodo Marks/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The school holidays are beginning in two northern German federal states. At the airport in Hamburg, operations are still rather quiet.
The first summer holiday weekend in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania got off to a relatively relaxed start at Hamburg Airport. There are hardly any long queues, the passengers are well informed and understanding, said an airport spokeswoman on Saturday for the German Press Agency.
A spokeswoman for the federal police responsible for security at the airport also spoke of a relatively quiet process. Only in the early hours of the morning were there waiting times of between 45 and 60 minutes at the security gates. However, those lines would have dispersed by 5:30 a.m.
According to the airport, around 36,000 arriving or departing passengers were expected on Saturday – significantly fewer than the day before. On Friday, Helmut Schmidt Airport experienced its first major stress test with around 45,000 passengers. In the pre-Corona year 2019, there were up to 65,000 travelers on peak days. The airport is expecting up to 50,000 passengers again next Friday, even if the summer holidays in Hamburg begin.
About 120 take-offs and landings are planned for this Saturday. On the peak days of summer there are up to 170. According to the airport, the most popular destinations are Mallorca, Antalya in Turkey and the Greek island of Crete.