Travel chaos at German airports: Lufthansa cancels more flights

Created: 07/08/2022, 15:25

By: Patrick Huljina

The travel chaos at German airports spoils the joy of the holiday start for many passengers.

Lufthansa has canceled more flights.

• Travel chaos

  :

  Lufthansa

  cancels further flights in Munich and Frankfurt.

• Long queues in

  Hamburg

  : At the start of the holiday, passengers at the airport needed patience.

• Airport chaos

  in

  Germany

  : The situation "is out of the question and embarrassing".

• This news ticker about

  travel chaos

  at German airports is continuously updated.

Update from July 8, 3:25 p.m .:

There were no unusual disruptions to air traffic at Frankfurt Airport on Friday.

After the main customer Lufthansa canceled further connections, the operator Fraport reported regular operation in the terminals and on the airside.

After a total of 122 cancellations, 1,270 take-offs and landings were planned for Friday at the largest German airport, said a spokesman for the operator Fraport.

Lufthansa accounted for a large part of the flight cancellations on Friday.

In the week from this Friday up to and including Thursday (July 8th to 14th), a further 770 flights in Munich and Frankfurt were canceled.

This number is in addition to around 3,000 flights that Lufthansa had previously canceled at its two hubs for the months of July and August.

On average, this already corresponded to a cancellation of 330 flights per week.

According to the information, Lufthansa wants to make a new decision in the coming week as to whether the program must continue to be reduced as much as it is currently.

The measure is intended to stabilize the remaining flight plan.

Above all, short flights in the late afternoon and evening will be cancelled.

Lufthansa has canceled further flights in Munich and Frankfurt.

(Iconic image) © Sven Hoppe/dpa

Travel chaos: Lufthansa cancels further flights in Munich and Frankfurt

Update from July 7, 4:50 p.m .:

Lufthansa is once again canceling flights at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

From this Friday up to and including Thursday next week (from July 8th to 14th) the flight schedule of the other connections should be stabilized, said a spokesman for the company on Thursday.

The exact number of deletions has not yet been determined.

In particular, short flights in the late afternoon and evening would be canceled as the planes accumulated more and more delay minutes throughout the day.

Lufthansa had previously canceled more than 3,000 flights in two waves for the months of July and August.

Long queues in Hamburg: At the start of the holiday, passengers needed patience

Update from July 7, 1:15 p.m .:

At Hamburg Airport, passengers had to be patient at the start of the summer vacation.

Early Thursday morning between 5 and 6 a.m., according to the federal police, the waiting time before the security checks was already one and a half hours.

"But you can tell that the people are well prepared for the security checks and heed the tips that we as the federal police are announcing," said spokesman Marcus Henschel of the dpa.

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According to airport spokeswoman Katja Bromm, Hamburg Airport was well prepared for the start of the holiday season.

"We have increased the staff and really everyone here on site." The passengers had also adjusted to the situation, "and that means that the situation is also calm and stable".

Almost 40,000 passengers were expected at the airport on Thursday, "tomorrow it will be even a bit more." In total, the airport is expecting up to 280,000 passengers per week at the beginning of the summer holidays.

On the busiest travel days, around 155 take-offs and just as many landings are planned from Hamburg.

The rush at Hamburg Airport was already great early in the morning.

© Bodo Marks/dpa

Summer vacation start in three federal states: airport chaos expected

First report from July 7th:

Berlin/Hamburg – With Berlin, Brandenburg and Hamburg, the next three federal states will start their summer holidays on Thursday (July 7th).

For many families this means: Holidays at long last!

However, there is often a major hurdle between relaxation at the travel destination and the passengers – the travel chaos at German airports.

Flights are delayed or canceled altogether.

There are long queues.

There are always problems with baggage claim - some passengers even have to leave the airport without their suitcases.

Many airports in Germany are struggling with bottlenecks.

Since the summer vacation - and thus the main travel season - is still to come in many federal states, according to the head of Frankfurt Airport, there is no quick improvement in sight.

Long queues formed at Hamburg Airport at the start of the holiday season.

© Bodo Marks/dpa

Travel chaos in Germany: Airports report a need for foreign temporary workers

To solve the handling problems, the larger German airport locations have announced their need for foreign temporary workers.

Inquiries have been received from airport operators and private ground handling service providers, said Ralph Beisel, the general manager of the airport association ADV.

He did not give figures for individual locations.

Overall, the association had announced a need for around 2,000 temporary workers.

They should come mainly from Turkey and be employed according to German collective bargaining conditions.

After negotiations with the federal government, no check is made as to whether German employees are available for the jobs.

The enlistment is intended to alleviate the staffing issues that have led to numerous delays and complaints from disgruntled passengers.

Frankfurt Airport expects the people to be deployed in September.

Airport chaos in Germany: the situation "is out of the question and embarrassing"

In view of the bottlenecks at airports, the Union has asked the federal government to find quick solutions.

Union parliamentary group leader Ulrich Lange (CSU) told the dpa: “The current situation at our airports is out of the question.

It's embarrassing and it damages Germany's reputation in the world.

I understand the thousands of passengers whose time, money and nerves are wasted even though they just want to fly on their relaxing holiday.” Two couples from the Munich region are also affected.

They have to deal with canceled flights and fight questionable refunds.

On Thursday, the Bundestag is to discuss an application by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group to eliminate the chaos at the airports.

Among other things, the federal government should be asked to immediately convene an “air travel summit” with the participation of the responsible federal ministers.