Motorways “unusually quiet”
NRW holidays begin with queues at airports
06/25/2022, 3:38 p.m
After the travel slump caused by the virus, many people in Germany are apparently treating themselves to a vacation far away from the familiar realms: while the motorways in North Rhine-Westphalia are noticeably empty at the beginning of the vacation, the airports can hardly withstand the rush.
On the unofficial first day of school holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the motorways remained quiet, while the country’s largest airport in Düsseldorf was very busy, a spokesman said. Travelers reported that they had been waiting there for five hours. They had arrived extra early. The luggage transport system, which was temporarily disrupted on Friday, also caused concern. Flights canceled at short notice also caused frustration among travelers.
On the other hand, the security checks, which were often the critical point in the past few weeks, were unproblematic. “We have to wait 10 to 15 minutes in Düsseldorf and are very satisfied with that,” said a spokesman for the federal police. The Federal Police was able to hire a second service provider to provide support just in time. The main service provider also recruited additional support staff. It’s different at Cologne/Bonn Airport: “There we have waiting times of 60 to 90 minutes at the security checkpoints,” said the spokesman. This is due to sickness-related staff absences “in the three-digit range”. “You can’t compensate for that anymore.”
Already on Friday – the last day of school – there were long queues at the security controls and check-in counters at Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports. Several airlines have had to cancel numerous flights over the past few days because of the significant staff shortages due to the corona virus. Nine flights were canceled at Düsseldorf Airport by noon – eight of them from Eurowings and Lufthansa.
Malfunction of the baggage handling system again
After a disruption on Friday, there was also another disruption in the baggage conveyor system. This was announced by Düsseldorf Airport. “Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that luggage will be left behind in Düsseldorf today,” it said. The airlines would forward this as soon as possible. At midday, the system was back to normal operation, with a delay in baggage processing.
Since many people fly back on vacation after the forced break caused by the corona, the car is losing some of its importance for the journey compared to the past two corona years, the ADAC had analyzed in advance. In addition, not everyone would leave immediately in the first few weeks. Travel is more likely to be spread over the entire summer vacation.
In fact, the great wave of travel on the autobahns in North Rhine-Westphalia initially failed to materialize. “For the fact that it’s the start of the summer holidays, it’s unusually quiet on the freeways,” said a spokesman for the state police control center. An ADAC spokesman also confirmed that it was almost completely free of traffic jams by noon. “Currently you don’t feel anything from holiday travel.” Around 12:00 p.m., traffic was only backed up for five kilometers.
In the afternoon, according to the ADAC, the length of the traffic jam in the country was almost 200 kilometers – but there was no chaos either. Nevertheless, the Hagen police, for example, carry out special checks throughout the city because they expect an increased volume.