The first ski lifts have opened in Bavaria.
But cable car operators doubt that there can be a real winter season.
The reason for this is the current corona rules.
Munich - With winter, many people look forward to skiing again.
After a year and a half of the coronavirus * pandemic, it is again possible to get started on the slopes this year.
Or not?
While skiing * is possible in Austria despite lockdowns with a 2G certificate, stricter rules apply in Bavaria.
If you want to climb a cable car in the Free State, you have to provide proof of a negative corona test in addition to 2G.
2G-plus rule at ski lifts: Cable car operators are calling for improvements to the Corona rules
The operators are now up against these rules and are demanding improvements.
The requirement of the Bavarian state government for 2G plus cannot be met in terms of personnel and logistics, said the President of the Association of German Cable Cars (VDS), Matthias Stauch, on Thursday.
That is a "punch in the pit of the stomach" and means a "lockdown through the back door".
Stauch demanded a return to the 2G rule for the cable cars in Bavaria - otherwise it is unclear whether there could be a ski season.
The Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association Dehoga sees it similarly.
Like the cable car operators, they want to check the legality of the regulations.
The rule of law principle of proportionality must stand above them, said Dehoga.
Dehoga and VDS emphasized that the vaccination quota is particularly crucial in combating pandemics.
Cable car boss Stauch: Too little test capacity - ski guests sent home
Stauch said the announcement that 2G will probably apply at the lifts has induced some skiers to vaccinate.
"Winter sports can be used as a motivational booster for the vaccination," said Stauch.
"A 2G-plus rule, on the other hand, punishes all vaccinated people."
In addition, there is not enough test capacity.
Implementation is unimaginable, especially when there is a lot of crowds, such as during the Christmas holidays.
On the first day of application of the new rule alone, people would have had to wait more than an hour at the Zugspitzbahn.
Some should have been sent home because they didn't have a test, said Stauch, who is also a board member of the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn.
The Zugspitze * was the first German ski area to start the winter season last Friday - with 2G regulation.
Corona rules: Hotel and restaurant association warns of a confusion of rules
The operators of the cable cars fear that ski guests will migrate to Austria, where the Corona rules * were subsequently defused.
Beyond the border, 2G applies in ski areas.
VDS Vice Chairman Peter Lorenz called for equality with the Austrian neighbors.
"Otherwise that would be economic and ecological nonsense."
The VDS estimates the losses from the lost 2020/21 season at 80 to 99 million euros.
With industries such as gastronomy and hotel, but also handicrafts, you can quickly reach half a billion euros.
The President of Dehoga Bayern speaks of a dramatic situation.
“We know that action has to be taken,” said Angela Inselkammer.
But it is difficult if this is carried out on the back of a few - tourism is accessed “reflexively”.
Completely different requirements and regulations threatened, even within Bavaria, which would result in either real or de facto lockdowns.
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