Hundreds of job cuts planned at Berlin airports due to virus

The state-owned operator of Berlin’s airports plans to cut 400 jobs, as the aviation industry reels from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Significant cuts are necessary in the areas of administration and operations, according to a letter to employees seen by dpa on Wednesday.

“We estimate that 400 jobs will be cut in the next few years,” airport chief Engelbert Luetke Daldrup and head of human resources Michael Halberstadt wrote.

The company currently employs around 2,170 people.

Dismissals for operational reasons are to be avoided “under all circumstances,” the letter states, adding that senior executives and managing directors are to waive 10 per cent of their salary in a bid to cut costs.

Talks on job cuts are to get under way with the supervisory board, the works council and the Verdi union. A video conference is planned for Friday to give employees the opportunity to ask questions.

The Berlin airport operator, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH, is not the only company in the air travel industry tightening its belt.

The operator of Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s biggest air hub, expects to reduce its workforce of 22,500 by 3,000-4,000 in the coming years.

Many airlines are also downsizing, including EasyJet, the biggest client for Berlin airports.

EasyJet intends to cut 30 per cent of its workforce worldwide and pull its aircraft out of Berlin.

On Tuesday, an internal memo seen by dpa said budget airline Ryanair plans to close its base at Frankfurt Hahn Airport and is considering doing the same in Berlin Tegel.

“Aviation and in turn airports are in the midst of the worst crisis in their history since World War II,” the letter to Berlin airport employees said.

The German capital’s two currently operating airports – a new one is scheduled to open after a long delay in October – are operating well below their usual capacity. Tegel and Schoenefeld airports have seen passenger numbers plummet to about 20-25 per cent of pre-crisis levels.

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