After two years of Corona, people want to travel again and the main travel season in summer is imminent. But airports and airlines across Europe are short of staff.
In view of flight cancellations and delays due to staff shortages at airports and airlines, solutions are being sought for the expected rush of travel during the summer holidays.
The air transport association BDL can gain a lot from proposals from FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr. Among other things, Dürr had called for the federal police to be more involved in security checks at airports.
More federal police officers in the airports
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) must bring more federal police officers to the airports “so that the queues at the security checks are reduced,” the FDP politician told the “Tagesspiegel” on Sunday. In addition, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) must ensure “that the ground service providers can hire people quickly and unbureaucratically – if necessary with temporary contracts”. It is conceivable to hire staff from abroad for this purpose. The federal states would have to join forces. “So that people can travel again without problems as soon as possible,” said Dürr.
The federal police are generally responsible for security checks, and at some airports also the state police. As a rule, service providers commissioned by it are used for this purpose. “If the service providers are not able to carry out the checks with the quality and efficiency requested, the police authorities must ensure that they are carried out in another way, if necessary with the state authorities’ own staff,” said the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL). request with.
Employing workers from third countries
In addition, a short-term assignment of workers from third countries, for example from Turkey, could ease the situation for ground service providers. “In this special situation, we have already asked the federal government to facilitate the process of hiring out employees with special permits,” the BDL said. The decision lies with the Federal Minister of Labor and the Federal Minister of Transport. Both agreed to take an exam.
The airport association ADV warned: “The private aviation security service providers must meet their obligations and promptly provide sufficient staff.” A reorganization of the aviation security controls could be considered in the next step.
At the same time, the association emphasized that the background check for employees in the security area remains essential. However, simplifications in the obligation to provide evidence are necessary, which many potential employees can only fulfill with great effort or are a deterrent. “At the same time, the procedures for a background check take 6 to 8 weeks too long to be able to hire more staff at short notice.”
For weeks there have been massive problems at Germany’s airports but also in other European countries due to a lack of staff in the industry. Lufthansa alone wants to cancel 900 flights in Munich and Frankfurt in July. Concerns about chaotic conditions during the summer holiday season are growing.
According to Verdi, the large airports such as Frankfurt, Hamburg or Berlin are particularly affected by the lack of staff in all service areas on the ground, such as security control or check-in. Munich also lacks staff, but the situation there is better because the security staff are not employed by a private company, but by a state-owned company that pays according to the public service tariff.
