On the second day of the summer holidays in Berlin and Brandenburg, travelers at BER must expect longer waiting times at check-in and at the security check. Overall, however, operations are running smoothly. The airport is expecting 80,000 passengers today – a new record.
After BER passed its first stress test on Thursday, the situation at the airport was a little more tense on Friday morning. Passengers waited significantly longer than the day before. From 7:45 a.m. they needed about 40 minutes to an hour for the security check. At most times, the waiting time was 15 to 25 minutes, airport spokeswoman Sabine Deckwerth told the Tagesspiegel.
All in all, she spoke of a “quiet start to a busy day” and operations at the airport were “stable”. Your airport has isolated “waves” that will quickly calm down as soon as the big rush is over. “It is clear that there can be longer waiting times at the beginning of the holidays,” said Deckwerth.
There were also temporary backlogs at the check-in counters of some airlines. Some vacationers said they had waited in line for over an hour. Many of the check-in counters were not manned.
On Friday, 500 take-offs and landings are registered at BER, 80,000 guests are expected. There have never been so many since the airport opened in October 2020. He expects a little less crowds on Saturday. He is expecting 70,000 guests, and a total of three million over the entire summer holidays. That’s a million more than last year.
The airport had recommended its guests to be there at least two and a half hours before departure and to check in online. Some travelers stated that they were at the airport three to four hours before departure because they were worried about long waiting times.
The concern is justified: there have been longer waiting times at some German airports in recent weeks because some of them are understaffed. The number of employees fell to a record low during the pandemic, as many airports cut staff and some employees switched to other industries.
Cologne and Düsseldorf airports were already reaching their limits at the start of the holiday season in North Rhine-Westphalia. For some travelers, the summer holidays ended at check-in: they missed their flight. But at BER, things have been running smoothly so far despite some longer waiting times.
