Germany to hire foreign workers to relieve airport shortages

BERLIN, Germany - A German Interior Ministry spokeswoman said the country is trying to hire foreign workers as quickly as possible, in order to relieve airports overwhelmed by staff shortages during the busy summer travel season.

At a government news conference in Berlin, the official said temporary workers, who would be given accommodation and a standard wage, would have to undergo the same security and reliability checks as do all staff, which will take some two weeks to process.

Travel returns to normal after COVID 19 lockdowns, and airports and airlines struggle to keep enough staff to handle the crunch, travelers across Europe will likely face long lines this summer.

Some one-in-five jobs in security, check-in and aircraft handling remain unfilled, according to the ADV airport association.

Airports are expected to announce their needs in the coming days.

In an interview with Reuters, Thomas Richter, head of the ABL association of aircraft ground handling employees, said he believes that between 1,000 and 2,000 workers will be allowed in the country for three months, most likely beginning in August.

A time limit of six months would have been nice. He said it does not solve the problem, but it certainly helps.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stressed that there would be no compromises to ensure airport security despite this being at odds with the need to bring in help quickly.

Andreas Rosskopf, the chairman of the German police union, warned against hiring foreign workers in positions that require additional security, but said they could be used for jobs such as baggage handling.

In terms of security, we are talking about people who have to be intensively screened and briefed. That takes a certain amount of time, he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.