The summer holidays in NRW are heading towards the last week. But in other federal states, the holidays are just beginning. That's why there's a lot going on on the streets in the foreseeable future. At the airports anyway. Travelers fear long waiting times - like last week in Cologne.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - After a weekend of chaos with long waiting times in front of the security check, especially in Cologne, the airports are preparing for the next rush of travelers. Hundreds of thousands of passengers go on holiday or come back. Further measures have been implemented to support the federal police and the security service provider commissioned by them, said Cologne Airport.
The Federal Police, on whose behalf companies check the hand luggage of passengers, has been able to order staff for two more security check lines in Cologne this weekend. The company that actually works there has a lot of sick employees, so last weekend the security check was severely understaffed and could not cope with the rush. Federal police officers are also supposed to help as marshals or return vehicles as part of the aviation security check.
Cologne Airport also wants to deploy more staff in the terminal to help travelers. In the event of longer waiting times, they should be provided with water and snacks such as fruit and ice cream, a spokesman said.
Düsseldorf Airport is expecting a total of almost 130,000 passengers on Saturday and Sunday. In Cologne/Bonn, around 110,000 passengers are expected from Friday to Sunday - about as many as on the previous weekends.
And on the nationwide motorways, the ADAC expects one of the worst traffic jam weekends of the season. Because while the last week of the school holidays is beginning in NRW, the summer holidays are beginning in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Some are on their way home, others are just starting out. The auto club said peak times are Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. The travel summer will probably bring as many traffic jams as before the start of the corona pandemic.
The lack of staff at peak times also leads to longer waiting times and queues at the largest NRW airport in Düsseldorf. Among other things, there is now an early check-in from 3 a.m. in the morning. Because of the ban on night flights at the airport, the first plane takes off three hours later.
The federal police said that check-in counters or air security and border control points, for example, were a challenge for everyone involved. Delays at individual points affect the other steps. Especially at peak times there is currently a high rush.
