While the strict corona lockdown rules severely limit people's everyday lives, you don't seem to look too closely at the airport.
Memmingen
- Milan Bakalov ** stands close together in a group of fellow travelers.
His plane from Sofia has just
landed
at the
airport in Memmingen
.
Everyone is waiting for the shuttle bus that will bring passengers to the terminal.
There is no need to think about the necessary distance to the next man.
Bakalov often flies professionally, but such conditions are
unusual
for him - especially in
times of
Corona *
.
“People pile up, but
nobody
seems to care.” Then he discovers several people who are not
wearing
their
masks
or are
wearing them
incorrectly.
No action is taken because of this.
Corona: FFP2 masks are not yet required at the airport and on airplanes
Stricter
corona rules
have been in effect in Bavaria for a little over two weeks
.
Among other things, wearing
FFP2 masks *
has become mandatory in local public transport and in retail.
It is therefore surprising that the state government does not impose stricter rules when traveling by plane - at least when arriving and departing in Bavaria.
As
Memmingen Airport
confirms, only a simple
mask requirement
applies at airports
.
In addition, if the distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained, a
mask
must be
worn
anyway
.
Bakalov has now made it into one of the
shuttle buses
.
“Here, care was taken to ensure that not too many passengers enter a vehicle.” The Bulgarian, who lives in Germany, estimates a maximum of 30 or 40 people.
But then the
same picture in
front of the entrance to the
immigration area
.
People push and push.
Bakalov is irritated.
"There must be four people squeezed into one square meter." He asks an airport employee how many people are allowed into the
entry hall
- now in
Corona *
times
?
She does not know.
But ask him to go on with the other passengers as well.
Traveling in Corona times: In exceptional cases, the distance rule cannot be adhered to
A statement from the airport confirms that in exceptional cases, such as when boarding or entering the country, the
distance
regulation cannot be observed.
That is why wearing a mask is compulsory in the entire terminal building.
From February 1st it will even have to be medical masks.
In addition, all
processes at the airport are
coordinated
with the responsible
health authority
.
But one should be aware that the
phenomenon of urge is
in the nature of humans.
To then equalize the mass is simply impossible.
Perhaps people are really used to jostling at the airport.
However, queuing
at the supermarket checkout or with the Click & Collect procedure - where customers can order their goods on the Internet and pick them up on site - seems to work smoothly.
The airport's conclusion therefore sounds a little resigned: "In the end, however, each passenger is responsible for keeping their
distance to other passengers
."
Traveling in Corona times: airport staff seem "powerless"
The businessman Bakalov does not deny that the airport
pursues
a
hygiene concept
and only wants the best for its passengers.
The only
problem is
implementation
.
The staff just has to intervene more strictly and be better informed, is his impression.
The employees looked downright "powerless".
As if they couldn't do anything about it.
+
Also in the entry area there is no chance of keeping the 1.5 meter distance.
Current photo of Milan Bakalov.
© private
Particular
attention should be paid to
protection against infection
,
especially when entering from
corona risk
areas.
Bulgaria
has been on the Federal Foreign Office's list for
risk areas
since November
.
Sure, travelers must have a
negative PCR test *
in their pocket
before arriving in Germany
.
But a test is just a snapshot and does not exempt you from the
mask requirement
and
distance
rule
.
Traveling in Corona times: High number of passengers on Friday morning
According to
Memmingen Airport
, there is probably an increased number of passengers on Friday mornings and that even in
Corona times
.
In order to cope with the increased number of passengers, the principle of block handling is followed.
“Passengers then first wait in the area of the
Corona test center
and are then gradually driven to the terminal in a controlled manner.
Delays result from the very high
control effort for the border police
for the new regulations.
We use (covered) open spaces, as the risk of infection is considerably lower here in order to collect waiting passengers.
Unfortunately, this is not always comfortable (e.g. in rainy weather), but a better solution than inside a building, ”writes the airport.
For Bakalov - who has now lined up at the very back in order not
to wait
in the middle of the waiting masses of people in the completely closed
entry
area - hardly understandable.
“I'm shocked that something like this can happen in Germany.
Nobody is allowed to meet privately and here you
are crammed
together like in a small stable. ”After just under an hour and a half in the
entry area
, Bakalov made it.
He's still going home with a bad feeling.
(tel) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
** Name changed by the editor
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