Airport boss: "Saxony will continue to have two airports"

Despite financial challenges and falling passenger numbers, the CEO of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, Götz Ahmelmann, still sees a future for the two airports in Leipzig/Halle and Dresden. "Saxony will continue to have two airports," said Ahmelmann in a podcast by "Sächsische Zeitung" and "Leipziger Volkszeitung". The airport boss spoke of a "very, very difficult situation in air traffic".

Job cuts: 60 redundancies

Ahmelmann criticized high costs in particular, as well as a slump in passenger numbers, especially for business trips in domestic German traffic following the coronavirus pandemic. Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG is working on a strict restructuring course. The aim is to achieve an operating profit for the first time by 2026. Plans include savings in operating costs, higher revenue and the reduction of 172 jobs, including 60 redundancies. "We would have preferred to avoid it altogether. But we didn't quite manage that in the end," said Ahmelmann.

However, the airport boss is positive about the future. The expansion of the chip industry in Dresden will increase international demand. Leipzig/Halle Airport also benefits from its dual structure of tourism and freight.