As a remedy for the acute staff shortages at German airports, the federal government wants to make it possible for foreign employees to be deployed at short notice – for example in baggage handling or at check-in. “We make it possible for companies to use helpers from abroad, especially from Turkey,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on Wednesday. It should be easier for them to obtain visas and work permits. There shouldn’t be any language tests because people shouldn’t stay in Germany permanently.
According to Faeser, there is currently a lack of employees, especially in ground service providers and private security companies. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) said that the lack of staff is a problem that exists across Europe because skilled workers have migrated during the pandemic. Together with the industry, solutions have been developed that now have to be implemented by the companies.
Interior Minister Faeser said that the government was supporting the airlines – and reminded them that the state had already given them a helping hand at the beginning of the corona pandemic. Thanks to the state, 85 percent of employees at security service providers are still employed by the companies. In addition, the federal police are ready to support security checks with their own staff if necessary.
The Minister of the Interior also called on the airports to equalize flight times and thus ease the situation. “In my opinion, there are no compromises when it comes to safety,” said Faeser. That is also not to be expected of the people.
Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) said it was important to him that there was no temporary work and no wage dumping if companies wanted to hire people from countries like Turkey. “It’s not a permanent solution,” he warned. It is the task of companies to create attractive working conditions. He campaigned for a collective agreement in the industry that could be declared generally binding. Even if the federal government is helping the companies now, they are not being relieved of their responsibility.
Too late for the holiday business
Overall, the measures are intended to help defuse the sometimes chaotic situation at the airports. Because the lack of staff at airlines and especially ground service providers leads to queues, delays and flight cancellations. Thousands of flights are canceled across Europe to relieve the overwhelmed system. Lufthansa alone is taking a good 3,000 connections at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich out of the flight plan for the summer. Airline boss Carsten Spohr apologized to the passengers and admitted that after the pandemic crisis, savings “were exaggerated in one place or another”.
However, the federal government’s plans are unlikely to bring immediate relief. It is expected that many assistants will be deployed in August at the earliest – and therefore too late for the holiday business at many airports, as Thomas Richter, head of the Employers’ Association of Ground Handling Service Providers in Air Transport (ABL), says. “It doesn’t solve the problem, but it certainly helps.”