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TRAVEL NEWS

Stuttgart airport passengers offered Covid vaccine without appointment

People travelling from Stuttgart airport can get a Covid vaccine without prior appointment by presenting their airline tickets.

Stuttgart airport passengers offered Covid vaccine without appointment
Travellers waiting at the Covid test centre at Stuttgart airport in August 2020. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Schmidt

The state is offering an easy route to get jabbed for anyone planning to fly soon, said state health minister Manne Lucha, of the Greens, on Monday. 

Travellers taking off from Stuttgart from Wednesday July 14th only have to present their tickets, or other proof of booking, to get their shot at the vaccination centre (Impfzentrum Landesmesse) next to the airport without registering in advance or making an appointment. 

They can head to the centre on the way to the airport before their flight – if they make sure they have plenty of time – or they can get a shot any time before they travel. 

It makes sense to get vaccinated before you start your trip, “in order to achieve the best possible protection”, said Lucha. 

The health ministry said holidaymakers who want to get their jab on the day of their flight should allow four hours so they have enough time to get the vaccine and go through check-in and security. 

“In order to further advance the vaccination campaign, we have to join forces and make attractive offers,” said Lucha. Currently, there are plenty of free appointments at the vaccination centre, he added. 

READ ALSO: German Ethics Council advisor wants mandatory jabs for teachers

It is also possible to reserve a spot at the centre in advance, the airport said in a press release. 

People can use the offer to get a first or second vaccine dose, according to the state health ministry. The mRNA vaccines BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna are available. 

German authorities recently said that anyone who’s had the AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose, should get an mRNA vaccine for the second jab. 

Those who get the Johnson & Johnson jab only require one dose. 

Meanwhile, a pilot project started at the weekend in Stuttgart offering students at city universities a jab at the Robert Bosch Hospital. A total of around 6,000 doses are available. The vaccination campaign for students runs until July 14th.

Vaccine demand stalling

Demand for Covid vaccines in Germany is stagnating, leading to calls from health experts and politicians to get more creative when offering the jab. 

In Berlin, the first drive-through vaccination station is being set up at the Ikea car park on Landsberger Allee, in the north of the city. 

From Saturday, people will be able to get either the Johnson & Johnson or Moderna jab without an appointment. 

The latest figures show 58.5 percent of the population has had at least one jab, and 42.6 percent are fully vaccinated. But the number of people receiving jabs daily has gone down considerably in the past week. 

On Monday, Health Minister Jens Spahn, of the CDU, tweeted to say that doctors had administered “as few first doses… as in February,” when Germany was struggling to gets its inoculation campaign off the ground. 

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Why Covid vaccine demand is dropping in Germany

“Unlike February, we now have enough vaccines,” Spahn added. “The fact remains: please get vaccinated!”

Vocabulary 

Travellers – (die) Reisende 

On the way – auf dem Weg 

Flight – (die) Flugreise

Near or close to – in der Nähe (von)

We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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TRAVEL NEWS

No Easter strikes: Germany’s Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

German airline giant Lufthansa and a union representing ground staff said Wednesday they had reached an agreement on pay after a lengthy dispute, averting the threat of Easter holiday strikes.

No Easter strikes: Germany's Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

The deal between the carrier and the powerful Verdi union came after ground staff staged walkouts in recent months, leading to widespread disruption for air travellers.

After a series of direct pay talks failed, Lufthansa and Verdi entered arbitration this week, leading to Wednesday’s breakthrough.

Details of the deal were not immediately released.

But Lufthansa personnel chief Michael Niggemann said it was a “good compromise with substantial salary increases over the term of the agreement”.

Verdi had been seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the roughly 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff that it represents.

The ground staff staged their latest strike in early March, with a two-day walkout that led to the cancellation of up to 90 percent of Lufthansa’s flights. They also walked out in February.

Lufthansa cabin crew, who went on strike at major airports earlier this month, have still not reached a pay deal with the carrier.

But news outlet Spiegel reported that the airline group and the UFO union, which represents cabin crew, are due to enter arbitration after the Easter break.

The airline group earlier this month warned of the damaging impact of the wave of recent strikes, saying they would contribute to heavier losses in the first quarter compared to last year.

Lufthansa also faced a wave of strikes in 2022 by staff pushing for higher wages, leading to them winning hefty wage increases.

The group — whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines — had to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it has since bounced back strongly as travel has recovered, prompting unions to argue the airline is not passing on enough of its bumper earnings to its staff in the form of pay rises.

Wednesday’s announcement represents some more much-needed good news for employers in Europe’s top economy, who have faced a tough season of wage negotiations and strikes across many sectors.

This week, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and union GDL struck an agreement that will see train drivers work a shorter week, ending a months-long row that caused a series of crippling strikes.

The strikes have added to an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent in 2023.

READ ALSO: ‘A difficult road’: Strike-hit German rail operator agrees to shorter work week

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