How Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is preparing for the autumn holidays – Muricas News

Don't stress your self. There ought to undoubtedly be time for a cup of espresso earlier than departure, and there’s even a piano live performance for arriving vacationers as a welcome in the course of the autumn holidays. BER desires to develop into a feel-good airport for passengers.

This declare was formulated by BER boss Aletta von Massenbach and Thomas Hoff Andersson, the brand new managing director accountable for operations, when each knowledgeable at a press convention in Schönefeld on Wednesday in regards to the standing of preparations on the capital airport for the upcoming autumn holidays in Berlin and Brandenburg.

In the course of the autumn holidays, 60,000 to 80,000 passengers are anticipated on daily basis

Throughout this time, BER has to deal with the following document rush, for the primary time multiple million passengers are anticipated, 450 machines per day, 60,000 to 80,000 passengers, 128 vacation spot airports in 50 nations. “We will do it!” Mentioned BER boss von Massenbach. And Hoff Andersson, solely because the spring after worldwide stations at BER, mentioned: “We’re studying. We wish to get higher, extra digital, extra environment friendly, higher at communication.”

One purpose for the boldness of the BER administration: This yr the capital airport, first within the Easter holidays, then in the summertime season, is on the entire higher than different airports in Germany and Europe because of the disaster of the Corona penalties and business affected by workers shortages.

Between October twenty first and November sixth, BER expects 1.1 million passengers. That’s 200,000 greater than in 2021, the place the beginning of the vacation season at BER was screwed up: missed flights, crowds within the terminal. Issues have been wanting up since then, additionally with the emergency program that Hoff Andersson had carried out for the summer time holidays, with virtually 120 new automated counters for self-check-in and baggage check-in, new signage and a service workforce on web site throughout peak intervals.

BER recommends that passengers (as earlier than) be on the airport 2.5 hours earlier than departure. To make issues as stress-free as doable, Hoff Andersson suggested, for instance, to make use of the machines for check-in and baggage drop-off at 12 airways and to ebook a slot for the safety examine on-line upfront through the “BER Runway” provide.

BER is Europe’s first airport to supply this. In response to the airport firm, greater than 100,000 vacationers have already booked the safety examine because it began on the finish of August.

200 BER staff assist voluntarily in the course of the autumn holidays

The airport firm desires to steadiness the circulate of passengers extra evenly. One other new characteristic is that the ready occasions for safety checks are exactly displayed on the boards and that, in response to Hoff Andersson, if the principle terminal will get too crowded, passengers are requested to go over to Terminal T2. And within the social networks, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport desires to react extra shortly to criticism, ideas and occasions, says Hoff Andersson.

In response to Hoff Anderson, 200 volunteers within the “BER workforce” within the terminal will assist with orientation and operation of the machines in the course of the autumn holidays, similar to in the summertime. The BER workforce must also assist unload baggage in an emergency, when machines arrive late, the bottom service suppliers have staffing issues, mentioned Hoff Andersson, repeating his key message a number of occasions.

Not too long ago, the bags particularly had precipitated bother, there have been lengthy ready occasions, and hundreds of items of bags that had been stranded at BER after breakdowns at different airports – after the passengers. He understands the frustration. “However there are a whole lot of black Samsonite suitcases,” mentioned Hoff Andersson. “The state of affairs is presently below management.”

The yr 2022, von Massenbach ventured this cautious forecast, shall be higher than anticipated with already 16 million passengers, for the primary time two million passengers in a single month (September) and on the finish of the yr in all probability 18.6 million as a substitute of 17 million passengers. Additional development is predicted for 2023, though low-cost airways comparable to Ryanair have difficulties with the excessive location prices in Germany, in response to the BER boss.

She confirmed that BER is choosing up extra slowly than different airports in Germany in its restoration after the pandemic. Von Massenbach identified that after the corona pandemic, there have been fewer flights inside Germany. Whereas the overall is 45 % of the pre-crisis degree, it's 25 % for home German flights.

The airport firm will shut the yr 2022, past the monetary burdens attributable to the lengthy and costly building of BER, in pure airport operations “with an working revenue” within the double digits. That may be a good foundation for being within the black within the mid-20s.