Flight chaos due to staff shortages: government wants to facilitate the use of foreign helpers at airports – politics

As a remedy for the acute staff shortages at German airports, the federal government wants to facilitate the short-term assignment of foreign employees. “We make it possible for companies to use helpers from abroad, especially from Turkey,” said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) on Wednesday in Berlin after coordinated government proposals.

A lack of employees, for example in baggage handling or at security checks, led to sometimes chaotic conditions at airports at the start of the main travel season. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) said this was “a problem that we have across Europe”. Specialists in private companies have migrated during the corona pandemic.

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Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) said that according to the industry, there are several thousand workers who are currently not needed at airports in Turkey. They would have to be hired by the companies themselves. For employment in Germany, the state should quickly and temporarily create conditions with entry and residence permits and work permits.

Heil made it clear that conditions should apply to rule out social dumping. For example, it is not permitted to employ temporary staff. You also have to pay according to the tariff, and good accommodation is also specified. Faeser emphasized that there are no compromises when it comes to safety and reliability requirements.

The Tourism Officer of the federal government, Claudia Müller, meanwhile accuses the aviation industry of making mistakes in personnel planning. “We all had to do without traveling for a long time due to the pandemic. So many people finally want to get out and enjoy their holidays. (…) It wasn’t difficult to foresee that such a time would come,” said the Green politician of the “Bild” on Wednesday.

It is “all the more frustrating” when “after the extremely difficult Corona years” the “high number of passengers is currently encountering staff shortages in air traffic”. “Apparently there was considerable misplanning throughout the aviation industry,” said Müller.

The federal government “reacted quickly together” to defuse the situation, said Müller. “Above all, the security check and check-in at airports should work faster and more smoothly again. It is therefore planned to hire ground service providers and specialists from abroad in the short term, without neglecting safety, social and labor standards.”

The federal chairman of the Junge Union, Tilman Kuban, criticized in an interview with the newspaper: “We have 2.2 million unemployed people in Germany who would like to work. The traffic light government should therefore quickly take care of expanding the capacities of training and security clearance instead of recruitment campaigns.” (dpa, AFP)