Are the queues at the security checkpoints a thing of the past?

Thilo Schmid: There were totally unacceptable situations in the past months. At peak times, only six of the 18 lanes were open. The service provider who carries out the checks on behalf of the Federal Police had major staff shortages, and there were also short-term sickness-related absences. Now we have created the possibility to book a time slot online, where travellers can pass through the security check without having to wait.

What does this mean for the winter holidays? When should passengers be at the airport?

Schmid: As a rule, travellers should be there two hours before departure if they only have hand luggage. If you need to check in luggage, you should be there a little earlier. Anyone who wants to can also use the new booking service for the security check, which I have just described. There will always be peak times, like on Thursday and Friday, but we're talking about four to five hours there, most of the day the traffic is spread out very evenly. It's also much quieter on certain days of the week. Winter is not comparable to the travel wave in summer.

Will the new "Airport Operation Control Centre" - the AOCC - speed up the processes at the security checkpoints?

Schmid: Next to the new booking facilities, this is the second important measure to improve the collaboration of all process participants at the airport, also with regard to security controls, in the coming year. The AOCC is currently in the test phase, around 30 employees are working there who can control the processes at the airport even better because they sit in the same room and can make decisions directly. The centre will start in February. In addition, we are planning to optimise the building. We are in close communication with the Federal Police and the service provider about the fact that they have to significantly increase the number of staff as well as their availability. We have been assured of this several times. We are hopeful that the staffing situation will have improved by the summer flight schedule starting in April so that we do not see a repeat of last summer's scenes.

Frankfurt Airport is now taking over the management of the service provider at the security checkpoints itself. What do you think of the "Frankfurt model"?

Schmid: We are currently holding initial talks with the Federal Ministry of the Interior about this. Yes, as an airport we are prepared to take responsibility for the security checks. This will not yet lead to a solution for 2023, but it will not take until 2030 either. I assume that the security controls in Cologne will take place under our management in the future.

What does that depend on?

Schmid: It depends on what the contract constellation and the conditions for taking over the service provider and the equipment look like.

That means it could be the same service provider, i.e. Securitas?

Schmid: It could be the same service provider, but also another one who has the personnel with the appropriate qualifications. In the long term, we can imagine that we can draw synergies from personnel and goods control. We have been managing goods control ourselves for more than ten years. All in all, we already work with about 30 service providers and have the corresponding experience in planning and managing their activities.

What role does that leave for the federal police?

Schmid: The role of the Federal Police will not change. They are at the end of the security control process, which they supervise. They set the standards for hiring and training staff and for procuring equipment.

So you're not waiting to see how the "Frankfurt Model", which is supposed to be a pilot project, proves itself?

Schmid: Correct.

The new computer tomography scanners are supposed to speed up handling. How many does Cologne/Bonn Airport have in operation?

Schmid: We have two CT scanners, which greatly speed up security checks because passengers only need one instead of four tubs. The bag with liquids, laptops and other technical devices in the hand luggage no longer have to be unpacked, but the bags go onto the conveyor belt closed. With a CT scanner, 200 to 250 passengers can be checked per hour; without one, only half that number is possible. The capacity also depends on the length of the check-in belts. With long belts, a fast passenger can overtake a slower one. The airports in Munich and Frankfurt are currently getting new CT scanners in double-digit numbers, while we are not due to replace the older equipment until 2024.

Is it easier to recruit new staff now?

Schmid: I am happy to say that we have closed our personnel gaps in the operational area of the airport company. That was a real tour de force in the summer because both the number and quality of applications declined. We have also implemented some measures that make it easier for us to recruit. For example, we are getting out of various wage-reducing collective agreements. This will bring us back to the level we had before the Coronavirus pandemic and make us more attractive, especially in the operational area. In this way, we want to bind good employees to the company in the long term.

And what is the situation with skilled staff?

Schmid: There are still gaps here. We had to realise: For many positions, no one is applying any more. So we have to apply to the candidates. We're talking about skilled workers in engineering, IT, and partly also technical professions. We use recruiting channels differently today, we are mainly online, but we also approach candidates directly in some cases. And we have hired staff who go straight into recruitment. These are virtually personnel consultants in the company.

Is the airport not attractive enough as an employer?

Schmid: We are happy about everyone who is enthusiastic about our industry, it's not about Cologne/Bonn Airport per se. We have a large operational team here with interfaces to the administration. There is great cohesion in Cologne/Bonn. We are also firmly anchored in the region.

How is the non-aviation business developing? The gastronomy and retail trade were very limited due to the Coronavirus situation, and many shops were closed.

Schmid: We are doing very well this year, also because the passenger development is clearly above our expectations. We will probably finish the year with 8.8 million passengers and had aimed for just under eight million. We are profiting from this in non-aviation development as well. We have also managed to move forward with some important projects: We signed a new contract last week with the Turkish company Setur, which will operate two new duty-free shops from June. We will also be investing. In Terminal 1, the washrooms are being renovated, and in the security area of Terminal 2 we are working on a new lounge concept.

Is customer frequency increasing?

Schmid: Interestingly, air travellers and visitors consume more per capita at the airport than before the pandemic. Our audience may not be representative, but that's the way it is.

Are tenants willing to pay pre-Covid prices?

Schmid: We are not experiencing any difference, and have already signed one or two new tenancy agreements. If some tenants don't open so quickly, it has to do with a lack of staff. If you want to open in two shifts seven days a week, you need seven to eight employees and not just three or four. This was the reason why Marc O'Polo did not reopen six months ago.

How have turnover and earnings developed this year?

Schmid: Very encouraging. We expect a very positive result, which is also significantly higher than in the pre-Covid years. Although we had three million fewer passengers, we are already in the turnover regions of the pre-pandemic years. In terms of cargo, we are at least at the good level of the previous year.

How are energy costs developing at the airport?

Schmid: This year we still had ongoing contracts, next year our energy costs will increase significantly. We don't know yet whether we can benefit from government programmes. Fortunately, we have been relying heavily on renewable energies to generate our own electricity for some years now. We have one of the largest solar plants here in the region with 13,000 modules. In the next two years, 8,000 more modules will be added. We also have a modern combined heat and power plant and are building a woodchip power plant. We have also invested heavily in energy-efficient building technology such as LEDs and motion detectors.

How do you assess the development of sustainable aviation fuels?

Schmid: Very positive. We are one of three German airports where sustainable aviation fuel is available. We can expand the offer at any time. The demand from the airlines is now only starting to come in. The topic must be further developed in close cooperation with aircraft and engine manufacturers. Sustainable aviation fuels are still four to five times more expensive than conventional paraffin. This is a challenge, especially in an industry where there is great cost pressure and international competition, but at the same time the use of sustainable aviation fuels is one of the important issues of the future.

Aircraft noise is always an issue for local residents. How do you experience the debates at Cologne/Bonn Airport?

Schmid: We had fewer flights due to Covid, but the number of complaints about aircraft noise has not decreased to the same extent. Overall, however, I experience the discussions with the communities around us as very constructive. With the neighbourhood portal, we also have a large online offer where we make all information available in a very transparent way. This gives us a factual basis for all discussions. Within the framework of our sustainability strategy, noise protection remains a core issue. This is not just lip service.

On the subject of parking at the airport: time and again you see people waiting with their cars outside the airport until they get a call from passengers who have landed that they are ready to be picked up. Shouldn't there be better offers?

Schmid: Of course it is forbidden by law to stop on the shoulder of the approach road, for example. We regularly take action with all those involved to stop this. On our site there is the possibility of parking for three to four euros an hour. The structural situation means that there are limits to extending the offer.

What is your forecast for the airport in 2023?

Schmid: Things are looking up. In passenger traffic, we expect an increase of ten per cent, which is still well below pre-Covid levels. For cargo, we expect more of a sideways movement. These are cautious forecasts, because

Original text: Nina Bärschneider, Franziska Klaes, Ulla Thiede and Claudia Mahnke

Translation: Jean Lennox