The British accent makes you forget where the head of the British airline Easyjet in Germany was born: in Gera in East Thuringia. In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, Stephan Erler comments on the criticism of BER Airport and explains how the new Corona variant Omikron affects business.
Mr. Erler, although the capacity is far from being fully utilized, BER Airport kept making headlines. In the fall, pictures of long queues made the rounds. How do you assess the situation today?
We need to be clear about where we come from. There were also problems in Tegel and Schönefeld. In Tegel, passengers were faced with long queues, and cars often got stuck in traffic on the approach to the airport. The BER is much easier to reach. Unlike Tegel, it has a rail connection.
That will not comfort today’s BER users.
It is true that not everything went smoothly at BER, especially this autumn. But airlines, ground handling services and airport companies have got the message and are working to improve things. We have made adjustments to our new service provider. The increase in the number of employees has helped to calm the situation. However, we cannot influence all factors, for example security controls.
What feedback do you get from your customers?
We get positive feedback on BER from our passengers. The premises in Terminal 1 are perceived as being of high quality. There is more space than, for example, at the Tegel A-Gates, which were sometimes quite cramped. Of course, we haven’t come all the way at BER yet. Discussions are still ongoing on some topics, such as the defective moving walkways in the terminal.
I have the impression that the queues in front of the central security checkpoints in the hall are getting in the way of the queues at the neighboring check-in counters. Because there is little space between the two areas, the situation often becomes confusing.
It is true that when the rush is high, this area can get crowded due to the structural situation. However, the central security controls are now primarily intended for families or for passengers with preferential handling. Most of the passengers are directed to the large control lines in the pavilions to the left and right of the hall. When Terminal 2 opens in spring 2022, this will lead to another equalization. Easyjet will, however, remain in Terminal 1.
After only one runway was in operation for eight months, both runways have been in use again since December 1st. Was the opening necessary?
From our point of view, this is an important measure. Sometimes there was already so much traffic that the second runway would have been needed to relieve the traffic.
Omikron is now messing up many travel plans. Does Easyjet feel that too?
The discovery of the new virus variant also had an impact on us. Passengers are increasingly exercising their right to rebook trips to other destinations. Depending on which countries issue travel restrictions, business and city travel will decline there. But even in these cases, the effects are mostly short-term. In terms of long-term bookings, however, we are not seeing any major changes. People want to travel, and Omikron won’t change that either. Berliners are also sticking to their vacation plans for 2022.
The aviation industry has been flying blind since spring 2020. How are you coping with that?
A situation like this requires agile management that can respond to new developments at short notice. Our balance sheet for the 2021 financial year shows that Easyjet has mastered this challenge. We have responded well to both declining and skyrocketing passenger numbers. When travel restrictions in Mallorca were relaxed at very short notice in spring 2021 and many Germans spontaneously booked a stay on their favorite island, we were able to meet the sudden demand.
Nevertheless: where is the principle of hope?
Few people were vaccinated in 2020. Today the situation is different. Anyone who has been vaccinated twice and maybe even boosted can feel safe. This has a positive effect on travel behavior. We will continue to monitor the situation. But we are optimistic.
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