By Isabel Pfannkuche and Michael Sauerbier
The Berliners started their vacation from BER on Thursday without the feared airport chaos. But on Friday, 10,000 more passengers will fly.
No queues, no crowds, no desperate faces: Anyone who flew on vacation from Schönefeld on Thursday found a total of 134 friendly helpers there who normally work in administration.
The BER helpers patiently explained the new self-check-in machines to older travelers, showed them the way to baggage claim and to the security check with the shortest waiting time. “You had to stand there for an average of 15 minutes, a maximum of 25 minutes,” said airport spokeswoman Sabine Deckwerth to the BZ, “there were no problems anywhere.”
Many passengers had feared worse.
Like Viola W. (40) with her family from Kasel-Golzig: “We were there four hours earlier.”
Uwe (45), Leon (10), Viola (40) and Max (13) with Jan (49), Marlen (44) and Lilly (15) S. from Kasel-Golzig (from right to left) want to go to California: “We are been here four hours earlier because the online check-in didn’t work. But now we still have time for a beer” Photo: Olaf Selchow
The only annoyance: Five departures were canceled by airlines, especially within Germany. The reason: lack of staff. Four jets were delayed. A fraction of the more than 200 starts at BER.
But: Will Friday be just as relaxed as the first day of vacation? On Thursday, BER handled almost 70,000 passengers. “We expect 80,000 on Friday,” said spokeswoman Deckwerth, “that will be the busiest day of the summer vacation.”
Everything depends on the staffing level. Deckwerth: “On Wednesday and Thursday we had a low sick leave rate. That can change quickly on Friday, for example due to corona cases. We cannot guarantee anything.”
Redo D. (53) from Mitte and Martin S. (39) from Dahlem fly to Munich and from there take the bus to Tyrol. They say, “Check-in was super quick. We actually expected worse because of the summer holidays” Photo: Olaf Selchow
If you want to be on the safe side, you should check in online beforehand. With Lufthansa, Easyjet and Eurowings you can check in your luggage the day before.
And: Arriving four, five or six hours earlier makes no sense. Two and a half hours is enough. Anyone who flies at 6 a.m. should know: BER only opens its doors at 3.30 a.m.
