German airports to seek temporary staff from Turkey for summer

Faced with serious labour shortages as the holiday season kicks off, German airports are planning to employ 2,000 Turkish temporary workers through the summer, according to a proposal published on Friday, reported dpa.

The proposal by several sectoral associations submitted to the Labour Ministry seeks to remove legal obstacles. An Istanbul-based provider has been secured to find “qualified German-speaking workers,” according to the proposal, which has been seen by dpa.

It points to a shortfall of 2,000 ground staff and to the option of covering this shortfall with temporary foreign workers.

According to the proposal, the Turkish temporary workers speak adequate German and are also certified to work with hazardous materials to a level that satisfies International Air Transport Association (IATA) requirements. They also meet German background check requirements.

In terms of the proposal, an established German airport service provider will hire the workers for deployment to the various airports. The ministry is requested to lift the requirement for an individual check that there is no potential candidate for the job resident in Germany. The associations point out that experience shows that candidates of this sort are not available.