In the last few days, Eurowings has caused many stranded passengers in Salzburg and Innsbruck, among other places, because many flights could not be operated due to a lack of staff. Now Eurowings Europe boss Stefan Beveridge admits that not everything went smoothly and promises improvement.

"However, the current flight plan adjustments by numerous airlines in Europe will mean that the system will be relieved of load during traffic peaks and air traffic will thus return to normalization processes," says Beveridge. “We promise to do everything we can to work with our partners to set up the system again as quickly and as best as possible so that customers from Salzburg reach their destinations punctually and reliably, just as they can expect from an airline in the Lufthansa Group. We would like to sincerely apologize to the affected guests for the inconvenience of the past few days".

Salzburg Airport Manager Bettina Ganghofer added in the course of a press conference: "We have to reckon with downturns everywhere, unfortunately the holiday season brings traffic jams, delays and detours on the road, on rail and in air traffic. Compared to 2018, we had 4 more flight cancellations in the period from January to the end of June this year, which is regrettable, but can be explained with the current situation. We trust in the countermeasures taken by our airline partner Eurowings so that the situation can be rectified as best as possible for our passengers. I'm sure that, despite all the adversities, we're headed for a good summer."

Salzburg Airport is also currently suffering from a staff shortage. This already meant that the director had to lend a hand. For example she helped out as a waitress in the lounge. Other managers also lent a hand in various areas, including on the apron. This will continue to be the case. Ganghofer: "Of course, our staffing is far too thin. Although we have done everything to take the workforce with us through the pandemic, we have not yet been able to compensate for retirements and fluctuations to the desired extent. Of course we can still absorb the arriving and departing air traffic with our experienced permanent staff, but this must not and cannot remain a permanent situation. A very important concern for me, also in terms of our great regular team".