With the beginning of the autumn holidays, many Lower Saxony residents are drawn to the distance again.
Travelers feel the traffic on the streets and at Langenhagen Airport.
Queues formed there - probably also because some passengers were there too early.
Hanover - The start of the autumn holidays in Lower Saxony and Bremen has resulted in a high volume of travel at Hanover Airport and on the highways this weekend.
On Saturday long queues formed at the check-in counters at Langenhagen Airport.
A spokeswoman said on Sunday that some travelers had arrived too early for their booked flights.
As a result, there were traffic jams and not all travelers could have been processed quickly.
However, this did not result in delays.
The airport and the federal police had advised travelers to plan more time on the weekend in view of the expected rush at the beginning of the holiday.
Many travelers apparently followed suit.
The airport expected around 15,000 passengers per day.
In the past few weeks there had already been queues in Hanover, as was the case recently at the capital city airport BER. Some passengers even missed flights as a result. According to the Federal Police in Langenhagen, the main reason was staff shortages at the security checks at the commissioned company Securitas. A spokesman for the federal police said the clearance was on Saturday "much more relaxed than in the past few weeks". The commissioned company had around 40 additional workers on duty at the security checks. The federal police were also deployed with more personnel. The officials announced an exact balance of how the first autumn vacation weekend went on Monday.
Nevertheless, travelers reported waiting times of several hours in total. Some reacted with incomprehension: "I actually find it unbearable that you have to wait so long - once here at the gate, but also during the security check," said Ludger Haferkemper from Höxter in East Westphalia before his flight to Rhodes early on Saturday morning . A waiting period of three hours should be planned in any case. Other travelers like Anna Schade, who wanted to fly to Crete with her family from Braunschweig, emphasized the efforts of the airport. The staff are trying very hard to channel the queues, she said.
The airport and the federal police had indicated that travelers could contribute to faster processes. "Some people have things in their luggage that don't belong there," said a federal police officer. “That then delays the controls further.” Passengers are therefore addressed at check-in. In addition, there are more pre-checks of luggage.
In view of the queues at other German airports, the industry association ADV stated that they and the service companies were in a special situation. "After months of almost complete standstill of air traffic due to the corona pandemic, the significantly increasing passenger numbers at the beginning of the holiday season lead at times to capacity bottlenecks at individual locations," said ADV CEO Ralph Beisel. Among other things, the pandemic-related obligations to provide evidence slowed down the processes, and short-time work ensures staff shortages.
There was also heavy traffic on the highways in Lower Saxony at the weekend.
Drivers had to be very patient, especially around Hamburg - the highways going north were particularly affected.
On Saturday afternoon, traffic jammed on Autobahn 1 between Hittfeld and Norderelbe for 16 kilometers, as a police spokesman said.
On the A7 between Fleestedt and the Elbe Tunnel, the cars drove bumper to bumper for around 14 kilometers.
“It's really full.
There were traffic jams for miles in the mornings. ”That also has something to do with swapping beds in Denmark, which is usually on Saturdays.
Many Lower Saxony who are now starting their vacation are therefore on their way north.
"The Elbe tunnel is the bottleneck."
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Many passengers complained about check-in delays.
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Security company reacts to long waiting times at the airport
Lots of passengers at the airport: failures cause displeasure
Finally soak up the sun: Many northern Germans use the beginning of the autumn holidays for a flight to the south.
It will be correspondingly full at the airport in the coming days - more full than ever since the beginning of Corona.
A spokeswoman has a tip for the travelers.
Lots of passengers at the airport: failures cause displeasure
Airport staff want relief
After the staff shortages and long queues at Hanover Airport, employees at the security controls have asked for relief and better planning.
On Friday they protested against what they considered to be too stressful working conditions.
According to the Verdi union, which called for the rally, a good 50 employees took part.
Airport staff want relief
Accidents occurred in heavy traffic.
Six vehicles crashed into each other on the A2 near Bad Nenndorf.
Four people were slightly injured.
Also on Friday, five people were injured in a rear-end collision in heavy traffic on the A37 near the Hanover-Buchholz motorway junction.
dpa
