Berlin Airport is now even advising travelers to check in their luggage the evening before

After chaotic conditions with long waiting times, BER Airport and airlines try to keep things tidy.

Due to staff shortages and more complex check-ins in the pandemic, Lufthansa recommended its passengers to be at the airport four hours before departure this week.

Faster by train than by plane from Berlin to Munich

Those who followed Lufthansa’s recommendation would have taken longer to fly from Berlin to Munich than by train. Their ICE sprinters usually need a little under four hours for this.

Only hours later, however, Lufthansa withdrew its recommendation. “We have corrected our customer communication on this point,” it said. “As before, we ask our guests to arrive at BER early, especially when departing in the morning, as the number of passengers is particularly high at this time.”

BER recommends dropping off luggage the evening before

As a further measure, Lufthansa and Eurowings are now also offering travelers the option of checking in luggage the evening before, according to BER. BER recommends this approach.

According to this, Eurowings passengers can check in their luggage at the airport between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. the evening before, while Lufthansa passengers have a time slot between 5 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.

At the weekend there were long waiting times at BER Airport

The cause of the chaos is considered to be a lack of staff, which poses challenges for the entire aviation industry.

“Due to the short-time working hours at the airport locations due to the multiple lockdowns, many employees have terminated their employment or are no longer available due to expired contracts,” states the Airport Association ADV.

“New hires for companies with short-time work are mostly not possible.” The economic situation of the companies is too tense.

The situation at BER Airport has relaxed again

At BER, only one of three passenger terminals is currently open for cost reasons: the main terminal T1.

At the beginning of the week on Monday, the situation had relaxed again, according to the airport. Lufthansa also announced on Tuesday that processing at the counters was going smoothly again.