The Austrian summer holidays haven't even started yet, but the chaos of the weekend was definitely a small hint with the fence post of what else could be ahead. Austrian Airlines had to cancel numerous flights, passengers had to wait a long time in Vienna and in Innsbruck there was even an unnecessary bus trip to Munich and back. However, Buzz and Austrian Airlines each received a bird strike in Vienna.

The Failure of a Fokker 100 of the Croatian airline Trade Air resulted in the charter program of the tour operator Idealtours being thrown into turmoil. Vacationers had to wait an enormously long time for their flights. In one case, these were initially brought to Munich by coach, but there were no flights from there either, so it was back to Innsbruck. After an overnight stay, the travelers were then taken to their destination in a Trade Air A319. The other Idealtours customers had to wait a long time because the Fokker 100 arrived from Zagreb on Saturday evening. The delays have thus dragged on over the entire weekend.

Innsbruck as a “mini blueprint” for Vienna

The AOG of a single machine threw up Idealtours' charter flight schedule. Trade Air obviously has no backup available and the ACMI market is downright empty due to high demand. Since the 9A-BTE is now almost 30 years old and the Fokker 100 machine type is known for being extremely robust and safe, but also prone to small things, such a weekend of chaos could happen again during the summer of 2022 . In any case, the tour operator has no choice but to insist on compliance with the contracts with Trade Air, because it is difficult to get a replacement aircraft from another operator to Innsbruck in view of the bulging order books.

In Tyrol, a miniature version of what happened Austrian Airlines passengers in Vienna were stuck. Many flights have been canceled due to an acute shortage of staff, which is said to be due to many corona infections among cabin crew. On Saturday there were 52 connections and on Sunday there were officially 42 connections. A short-term improvement is not to be expected, because the current quarantine regulation of the federal government stipulates that you can test yourself free on the fifth day at the earliest. Cancellations and delays at Austrian Airlines can therefore be expected throughout the week. At the end of the week, the summer holidays begin in the federal states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, among others, so that significantly more passengers can be expected.

AUA boss denied the lack of staff at the worst possible time

Of course, Austrian Airlines will try to operate as many flights as possible, but recent events show that there is quite a lot of room for interpretation between the catalog language of company boss Annette Mann and reality. The AUA Director General, who came from Lufthansa, claimed to various media that there is no shortage of staff and pointed out that around 150 additional flight attendants had been hired. Obviously, the manager meant normal flight operations without sick leave or other irregularities, because the staffing level is not sufficient for sufficient or appropriate backup. In any case, the timing of the publication of the interview statements and the subsequent "string concert" at the weekend leaves a lot of room for the interpretation of the "catalogue language".

Incidentally, in the time “before Corona”, Austrian Airlines had to deal with frequent sick leave just at the beginning of the summer holidays. This has happened again and again and should be a reminder at this point that there are other diseases than Corona. An absolute classic that flight attendants occasionally catch in summer: classic colds. In the middle of summer? Yes, that is even very easy to do, because air conditioning systems are the simple cause of this. You sweat when it's hot outside and it's pleasantly cool inside. Back and forth a few times a day and you can, but don't have to, catch a cold. By the way, it's even easier to do it privately: A shopping tour by car with a few stops in front of various shops. Alternating between an air-conditioned car or shop and the summer heat can lead to colds. Can, but doesn't have to. Some people are prone to it, but others are not.

“Siko” waiting times also at Vienna Airport

The Vida union announced on Saturday that they had agreed with the management of the security subsidiary of Flughafen Wien AG (Vias) on a one-off payment of 1.400 euros, among other things. Specialist group chairman Daniel Liebhart explained, among other things, that he hopes that Austrian aviation now comes through the summer with a "black eye". Just on this day, Austrian Airlines had to 52 flights canceled due to staff shortages.

On Sunday morning there were longer waiting times at the security checkpoint at Vienna Airport. Those affected claim that they stood their feet flat for around 1,5 hours. It is not known how many travelers missed their flights because of this. A few days ago, Liebhart warned that there were selective waiting times of one hour. Airport boss Günther Ofner reacted with a sharp OTS transmission, which he had sent out in his function as WKO specialist group chairman and downright accused the trade unionist of lying.
In any case, at the end of this week the big endurance test is imminent, because the summer holidays begin in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, among others.

By the way, there were also two bird strikes over the weekend in Vienna. Collected the first the Ryanair flight to Liverpool operated by Buzz. After landing back in Vienna, the passengers were taken to the gate and then flown to their destination in an Airbus A320 from Lauda Europe. Just on Saturday, the next bird crashed into an engine: This time it hit the Paris flight of Austrian Airlines. This machine was also landed safely by the pilots, but the aircraft, like Buzz's Boeing 737-800, must be thoroughly checked by technicians. Both commercial aircraft will most likely require a replacement engine.

Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf plunged into chaos

In the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, things have by no means gone better. The complete opposite was the case, because right at the start of the holiday season, among other things Chaos broke out in Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf. The acute shortage of staff led to extremely long queues at the check-in counters and especially at the security checkpoints. Many passengers missed their flights or, after struggling at the gate, received the bad news that their flight was cancelled.

Eurowings and Lufthansa had to cancel many flights at the weekend because on the one hand they are suffering from an acute shortage of staff and on the other hand the situation at some airports in Europe, including Germany, is precarious. For example, some connections were also canceled because the personnel capacity in Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf simply could not cope with the high number of passengers.

Now the German government wants to solve the problem with the help of around 2.000 temporary workers from Turkey solve. The industry associations want to have struck gold with a personnel service provider in Istanbul. This is intended to provide workers at short notice, most of whom already have safety certificates and should have knowledge of German. The government is skeptical and stipulates, among other things, that the respective standard wage must be paid and that the guest workers must also be provided with accommodation. The approval, which is to be formally granted shortly, is initially limited in time. It remains to be seen whether the use of temporary workers will solve the problems at German airports. The core problem is with the security check and the government wants to use the temporary help more in the luggage area. With the exception of Frankfurt am Main, "Siko" is under the responsibility of the federal police, i.e. the state. This has commissioned subcontractors to carry out the work, whereby the airports have no influence on this.