Sometimes the passengers come to the counter long before sunrise – and still miss their plane. Then suitcases disappear again, never to be seen again. These days, long queues of passengers wind their way past check-ins with great regularity or queue up for hours in front of security checks. The mood at the start of the holiday season in Germany: thundery. The situation at airports after two years of pandemic: procedure. Now the federal government wants to intervene.
“Travellers are now suffering from the failures of companies.”
“We will make it possible for companies to use helpers from abroad at short notice, for example for baggage handling,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). Süddeutsche Zeitung On Sunday. “After two years of the pandemic, there are massive personnel problems in air traffic all over Europe. There is a shortage of workers everywhere.” The state supported the airlines and airports “with billions” during the Corona period, but there were still undesirable developments: “Travellers are now suffering from the omissions of the companies.” The federal government is now offering further support.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, here with Transport Minister Volker Wissing, wants to help the airports.
(Photo: Christian Mang/Reuters)
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil and Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) have reached an agreement with Faeser to facilitate the procurement of airport employees from non-EU countries such as Turkey for a limited period of time. Also for the loading and unloading of suitcases, assistants are to be recruited in a fast-track procedure. “There are measures that the airlines could take very quickly, for example Fast lanes for all travelers and end the exclusive treatment of fewer passengers, straighten out flight schedules and avoid peak loads,” said Minister Faeser. However, no risks will be taken in the sensitive area of the airport. “There are no compromises when it comes to security.” Security measures such as checking hand luggage For example, Faeser does not want unskilled temporary workers from abroad to do the scanning of passengers, although specific details have yet to be clarified.
The situation at airports is chaotic in a number of EU countries. There are hours of delays, many airlines are canceling flights in series. In addition to bad planning, the reason is also the downsizing in the pandemic. There is a lack of trained staff on the ground staff, in baggage handling and in the cockpit. And because pay and working conditions were often bad in Germany too, many people who were released from the pandemic do not want to return to the airports now. In addition, hardly any company had on the screen how many people wanted to take the plane on vacation again in the summer of 2022 – global warming and the economic crisis or not.
The federal government now wants to accommodate the aviation industry’s proposal to recruit around 2,000 temporary workers through employment agencies in countries such as Turkey. A process that is as unbureaucratic as possible is planned. Minister of Labor Heil wants to speed things up while at the same time preventing miserable working conditions. “Any form of social dumping and exploitation will be ruled out,” he said picture on sunday, which was the first to report on the project. “Employers must pay collective wages and provide decent accommodation for a limited period of time.”
Applicants from non-EU countries need a full security check
Federal Interior Minister Faeser, on the other hand, wants to ensure that the security requirements for airport employees are not undercut. Applicants from non-EU countries would have to apply for a visa at German diplomatic missions abroad and undergo a full security check. This is usually possible within a few days. Criminals, people with an extremist background or proven financial unreliability would be excluded. All other assistants are to be granted a temporary residence permit. They should not take on security checks.
This raises the question of whether the federal government’s project can speed up security checks at airports. At least according to many airlines, this is where the main problem lies. They are calling for more staff in the federal police and private security services. The Ministry of the Interior sees things differently. “We made sure that the private security service providers did not make any operational redundancies during the crisis and kept 85 percent of the staff,” said Faeser. In other words: the main responsibility for the misery is to be found in the companies. The federal police now want to increase their forces a little, but they cannot solve the problem. 10,000 new jobs are needed for this, a target far from reality.