The German regional airport Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden (FKB) is only a stone's throw from the French border and is the second largest airport in Baden-Württemberg. The 3.000 meter long runway was inherited from the Royal Canadian Air Force, which maintained a base here until 1993.

After the turbulent first few years as a civil airport, which were due in particular to the unfavorable circumstance that the former Baden-Airpark AG had a windy private owner who caused a serious economic scandal with Flowtex AG, the Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden airport developed ( FKB) has continued solidly under new owners since 2001. Stuttgart Airport holds two thirds and the remaining shares are in the hands of the region.

Like many other regional airports, Baden-Airpark was affected by many changes in air traffic. Airlines came and went, important routes were lost because the operator went bankrupt or abandoned the route for various reasons. Daily airport business. But the corona crisis was and is an unprecedented situation in Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden.

Baden-Airpark GmbH has been headed for 19 years by Manfred Jung, who will start a new “job” at the end of the year: The manager will take his well-deserved retirement. His successor will be Uwe Kotzan, who was most recently managing director at Erfurt Airport. In an interview with Aviation.Direct, Jung explains why it has to be possible to travel without borders in Europe again, what questions arise with regard to quick tests and how the lockdown and the crisis were felt at Baden-Airpark.

Due to the large number of risk areas, air traffic has been slowing down again since mid-August. The uncertainty when significant air traffic can take place again is currently more of a burden to us than the beginning of the crisis.

Manfred Jung, Managing Director Baden-Airpark GmbH

Aviation.Direct: What steps must governments and the EU take to enable the aviation and tourism industries to survive and make a comeback?
Manfred Jung: Traveling in Europe must be possible again without “borders”. With the current and constantly changing “patchwork quilt” of risk areas, passengers, vacationers and business travelers cannot plan and do not have any security whatsoever, so that many trips are not even started. Furthermore, an EU entry register (comparable to the ESTA procedure in the USA) should be introduced. Registration there would then be a prerequisite for booking a flight and would make the many national forms unnecessary. With the correct contact details given there, for example, all flight passengers could be reached anywhere.

Aviation.Direct: Some airlines and the IATA argue that quick tests should be carried out before departure. This could be done, for example, during the security check. What do you think of performing quick tests before every departure and how could they be implemented for you?
Manfred Jung: Carrying out quick tests with the necessary accuracy would be a very good means of increasing safety when traveling. At Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden Airport (FKB) we have enough space to have this carried out in the area of ​​passenger control. As always, however, the devil is in the details and the following questions arise, for example: Who is allowed to carry out such rapid tests: only doctors? Are there permanently enough rapid tests across Europe? Who pays for these rapid tests?

Aviation.Direct: Please describe a little how you and your employees experienced the sudden quasi-standstill in aviation and what feelings and thoughts did you have?
Manfred Jung: Up until March 2020, none of us could have imagined that there could be an 80 or 90 percent decline in commercial air traffic. As a result, the employees were understandably very worried about their jobs. The management and works council were able to quickly counter this with the works agreement on short-time work. For me as the managing director, the focus of my thoughts and actions was to shut down the various processes in a controlled manner and of course to further secure the liquidity of Baden-Airpark GmbH. We always had flight operations at the FKB (cargo flights, rescue and ambulance flights, organ transports, business aviation and flights for harvest workers and care workers). This has made it easier to look positively into the future.

Aviation.Direct: How was the mood when the air traffic gradually started up again?
Manfred Jung: Flight operations started up again relatively quickly in July and everyone breathed a little sigh of relief for the time being. Due to the large number of risk areas, air traffic has been slowing down again since mid-August. The uncertainty when significant air traffic can take place again is currently more of a burden to us than the beginning of the crisis. At that time everyone could hope that it would start up again in a few weeks, which also worked out in July. At the moment, nobody dares to name a time horizon and which of the system partners will then still be on the market.