There were long waiting times in front of security checks even before the corona pandemic. However, these have been occurring noticeably frequently in Germany since the beginning of the crisis, because the service providers usually commissioned by the federal police often have staff shortages. And the state is liable for this, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court has now ruled.

The background is that passengers missed their flight to the Dominican Republic due to extremely long queues. The travelers complied with all the recommendations of Frankfurt am Main Airport and the airline. They showed up at the check-in counter at the earliest possible time, around three hours before departure, according to court proceedings, and then immediately made their way to the security area.

And that's exactly where the problem lay, because the control lines were hopelessly understaffed, so that the complaining passengers missed their flights despite the long "time buffer". They did not want to put up with this and took the Federal Republic of Germany to court. At that time, security controls were the full responsibility of the Federal Police, for which the state is responsible. This commissioned a security company to actually carry out the control activities. And there was a shortage of staff.

Under the number 1 U 220/20, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court recognized that the Federal Police had not organized the control activities sufficiently. It was particularly useful for the complaining passengers that they exceeded the recommendations of the airline and the airport, because they were there about an hour earlier than recommended at the time. The OLG Frankfurt therefore sees a liability for damages on the part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The judgment is already final.