Frankfurt Many travelers can still remember the chaos at German airports last year very well. Many airport managers are concerned that 2023 will also be choppy. The aviation industry can then no longer hope for a great deal of understanding – neither among passengers nor in politics. In an interview with the Handelsblatt, Fraport boss Stefan Schulte tries to explain what is difficult to understand.
Mr Schulte, Easter is just a few days away. How chaotic will the travel season be for passengers at Frankfurt Airport this year?
I’m cautiously optimistic. The year 2023 will not be great, we have challenges such as the lack of workers. But passengers will feel that there is a definite improvement.
Really? In the last few days, images of long queues at security checks have been circulating on social media again.
There can always be queues, for example at the beginning of the holidays. But again: it will get better.
Everyone understands that there was a shortage of staff after the abrupt increase in passenger numbers last year. But why is the problem still not solved?
As a result of Corona, some of the workers have returned to their home markets and are not coming back. The pandemic has also fueled new online services that need workers. We have full employment, but at the same time the demand for labor is high due to the recovery in air traffic. We are now strengthening our team with workers from Spain and Greece, for example.
That didn’t work out last year, the temporary employment of employees from Turkey was a flop.
The action was too hectic. This was also not planned strategically enough by the industry. This will not happen again.
Why don’t you simply pay more so that the backbreaking job on the apron becomes more attractive?
The unions argue the same way. But there is more at stake, such as working conditions and creating perspectives.
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Perspective? What do you mean by that?
We need immigration, the bottleneck cannot be eliminated in the European labor market alone. That’s why I’m glad that the federal government is working on an immigration law. The labor shortage is not just one in aviation, it affects many industries.
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And that makes everything better?
So far it is planned to limit the stay to six months for workers – we are not talking about skilled workers here. This is going to be a pipe burst. You don’t have to give people a permanent residence permit right away, but they need more personal planning security.
Perhaps we should accept that we will never be able to fly as much as before the crisis?
No. I see it much more positively: We work so closely together in the industry to ensure reliable flight operations that in the end we will have a system that will be significantly more resilient than in the past. But for that to happen, problems have to be solved elsewhere.
What are you alluding to?
The airspace, for example. It’s tight there, which often causes delays. The war in Ukraine has made it even tighter because more overflights go over Germany. Politicians and the aviation security authorities are in demand here. For example, is a simpler route possible? Fortunately, this is also being worked on.
The Fraport boss is still struggling with a staff shortage and warns of bottlenecks in processing.
(Photo: IMAGO/HMB Media)
Why not permanently limit the number of maximum take-offs and landings, like you are doing now in the summer?
This is only temporary as a voluntary measure. Incidentally, in Frankfurt, Lufthansa, as the largest provider, is hit hardest, and I respect them for that. Making this permanent would distort competition and is therefore not permissible.
But the largest German hub is growing more slowly than your airport holdings in Greece, for example. You can’t like that.
That has to do with the different structure in Frankfurt. As a major hub, we are more dependent on intercontinental connections and business travellers. However, the drivers of demand are currently primarily private travellers, such as tourists. Greece benefits from this.
So why did Greece manage to handle the large number of passengers without chaos?
Reasons are, for example, a more flexible labor market and a different attitude. If there are bottlenecks at the security checks, for example, the police officer will step in. I’m not asking that for Germany now, don’t get me wrong. But it shows what flexibility makes possible.
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How much turnover do you lose because you cannot grow in Frankfurt as you would like?
That depends on many factors. For example, if someone arrives by train, there are no airport charges. But with an onward flight to the holiday destination, for example, Fraport still makes sales.
Since the beginning of the year, Fraport has been managing the security checks, which are considered a chronic bottleneck on the way to the aircraft. How do you intend to shorten the queues?
We now have much better data and can plan resources more flexibly. We can also use modern and more efficient devices such as CT scanners more quickly. Seven of them are already in place, more will follow.
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Why is this faster now?
We are no longer dependent on the state budget and state procurement. We have decided to cooperate with the Federal Police to ensure that innovations at the airport are accelerated. The passengers will notice that immediately.
Is it conceivable that the handling in the terminal will one day be largely automated?
We must succeed in guiding passengers through the controls at some point in a largely automated manner. Of course people will continue to work there. But the comfort for travelers will be higher. And more passengers can be handled. We need that.
Mr. Schulte, thank you very much for the interview.
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