Will Germany's airports face travel chaos again this summer?

Airline passengers in Germany might fear a repeat of last summer. Perhaps they remember the mountains of baggage that were transported too late or not at all, grueling queues, overloaded phone hotlines, delayed or completely cancelled flights.

This airport chaos followed a slump in travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, when companies like Germany’s Lufthansa, as well as Germany’s largest airports, drastically slimmed down their workforces. But when bookings rose again starting in spring 2022, there were not enough staff to keep up with the demand. 

Could airports face a similar situation this summer, either through staff shortages or strikes?

Improved processes

Airports and airlines, including Germany’s Lufthansa, have said they’re recruiting more staff to keep up with increasing passenger numbers.

Airlines are automating their check-in procedures, and more staff are being deployed at passenger controls, especially during peak travel times. 

Some airports, such as Berlin’s BER, are also offering time slot reservations for security controls, so that it’s no longer necessary to wait in a queue.

Jost Lammers, head of Munich’s airport, Germany’s second largest, told the Tagesschau that there would be “no more chaos” in the coming months as the airport recruits more staff.

According to the BDL airport association, the recent Easter holidays were a “positive” test run: There were neither major incidents nor excessively long waiting times, not even at potential bottlenecks such as security checkpoints or check-in, said BDL. 

This gives “hope” for the beginning of the peak season starting in May, when Germany will have three public holidays.

READ ALSO: When are Germany's state and national public holidays in 2023?

Cancelled flights

Some critics, however, have accused airlines and airports of planning too ambitiously despite the still difficult financial situation. 

Lufthansa recently massively thinned out its summer flight offer and cancelled 34,000 flights due to the still-glaring staff shortage. 

The airline industry "continues to suffer from bottlenecks and staff shortages, especially in Europe", a Lufthansa spokesperson told business publication WirtschaftsWoche. In addition to airlines, airports, ground handling services and air traffic control are particularly affected.

The cancellations should now reduce the workload and "allow for more stability for the whole system,” he added.

To avoid further flight disruptions, union ADV has also called for the airline industry in Germany to receive more financial support from the government, pointing out that costs and taxes they incur in Germany are “too high.”

During the height of the pandemic, Lufthansa received a €9 billion bailout from the German government, which it says it fully repaid. 

Are more strikes on the way?

German airports saw a series of strikes in the first three months of the year as ground staff demanded better pay and working conditions. 

Following a brief pause in April, security staff in passenger screening and goods control said they planned to stage walk-outs in Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg airports - three of Germany's busiest travel hubs - on Thursday and Friday.

Among other demands, the Verdi union is calling on the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS), for 30-40 percent overtime pay for night shifts, 50 percent extra for Saturday shifts and up to 125 percent extra pay for working on specific public holidays, such as those coming up in May.

READ ALSO: Travel chaos expected at German airports as security staff plan strikes

The next round of talks between Verdi and BDLS is scheduled to take place on April 27th and 28th, and if the workers’ demands aren’t met - or a compromise isn’t reached - the strikes could spill over into the summer travel season. 

As with previous strikes, any shortage of ground personal could lead to flight delays and cancellations.

Lufthansa also remains in pay negotiations with its approximately 5,000 core pilots. If a deal isn’t reached by the end of the current negotiation round in June, there’s also the possibility of strike action.

In early April, however, collective bargaining director Marcel Gröls from pilots association Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) told WirtschaftWoche that “I think we can manage (the negotiations) without strikes.”

Have passenger numbers recovered to pre-Covid levels?

Munich airport, the country’s second largest, counted seven million passengers in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 70 percent compared to the same period last year. A similar trend was recently reported by Frankfurt Airport, Germany's largest.

Despite last year's recovery, the major airports in Frankfurt and Munich will again fall short of the record figures they set in the pre-Corona year 2019. In Munich, for example, Lammers expects 80 percent of the pre-pandemic level in the current year. 

For that to happen, however, traffic to Asia in particular would have to recover. China in particular had closed its borders to most travellers for a long time. Only now are airports gradually ramping up operations again to the continent.

Some smaller airports have recovered much faster. The airport in Memmingen, Bavaria, for example, saw almost two million travellers last year, more than ever before in its history. Allgäu Airport in Bavaria also expects another passenger record this year.