Recent delays and cancellations at German airports due to staffing problems are unlikely to end soon, Transport Minister Volker Wissing told Bild am Sonntag on Sunday. Germany, however, is no exception. “The situation in European air traffic is a huge challenge for everyone,” said Wissing.
Staff shortages after the lockdowns due to the corona pandemic are the main cause of the many delays and cancellations at German airports, according to experts. According to the Verdi union, the staff shortage in areas such as security control, check-in and baggage handling has hit major airports such as Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf the hardest.
The national airline Lufthansa says it wants to cancel about 900 flights in Munich and Frankfurt in July alone. According to Christine Behle, deputy chairman of the supervisory board at Lufthansa, the situation is only getting worse. “The summer will be chaotic,” Behle told the Augsburger Allgemeine. New hires are desperately needed as bookings pick up again, she said, but many former employees have left for better-paying jobs. “It gets dramatic.”
Dutch travelers mainly use the airports of Cologne and Düsseldorf regularly.