Berlin — The delays and cancellations dogging Germany's airports due to staffing problems are not likely to let up any time soon, the country's transport minister, Volker Wissing, said on Sunday.
"The situation in the European air transport system is an enormous challenge for everyone," Wissing told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, noting that officials were unlikely to find a quick solution for the staffing shortage increasingly affecting people's everyday lives.
Airports in several European cities have been hit with chaotic scenes in recent weeks as demand for summer holidays surges, with passengers in Dublin airport at times forced to queue for hours to gain access to terminals.
Experts have pointed to post-lockdown staffing shortages across the industry, and in Germany national carrier Lufthansa says it wants to cancel some 900 flights in Munich and Frankfurt in July alone.
According to German trade union Verdi, the shortage of staff in areas like security control, check-in and baggage handling is hitting large airports such as Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf the hardest.
The situation is only going to get worse, according to Christine Behle, deputy chair of the supervisory board at German airline Lufthansa.
"The summer will be chaotic," Behle told the Augsburger Allgemeine, blaming levels of competition at airports which have caused cuts to personnel costs of 30 to 40%.
The lockdown at airports during the pandemic had also led to layoffs at service providers, with employees since turning to other jobs, Behle said.
These staff are urgently needed, now that the number of bookings is rising again significantly. "It will be dramatic."
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