This year’s UEFA European Football Championship, more commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024, is to take place across ten host cities in Germany from June 14 – July 14. The competition is an opportunity for Germany to showcase what it has to offer the world. The planning involved to fly a huge volume of fans to and from the country’s cities a significant task.
To cope with the mix and high volume of commercial, charter and general aviation flights, airports across the ten key cities need to be slot-coordinated during the tournament. This is no mean feat given the huge 2.7 million tickets that have been sold for matches.
How are FBOs, general aviation airports and supporting partners preparing for the global sporting event?
Collaboration is key
The tournament will be played across ten German cities: Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart. The widespread nature of the competition means the smooth running of transport links in every city is paramount.
“For this specific event, we have been working closely with authorities and our partners at Düsseldorf airport since last year,” says Mark Voss, senior director site operations and general manager at Jet Aviation Düsseldorf.
“Now we are at the stage of planning the logistics of handling the additional expected traffic, we are able to draw on the expertise and resources from across our network, bringing experienced employees and equipment, such as tow trucks or passenger cars, as needed.”
Collaboration across airports, FBOs and charter operators is essential for an event that will see hubs reach their limit as a deluge of football fans arrive and depart.
For charter and FBO provider ExecuJet, which has FBOs in Berlin and Munich its main focus is on its capacities for handling on the apron, while logistical processes such as slot or prior permission required (PPR) planning are controlled from the airport or airport coordinator.
“We are maximizing our deployable employees and the number of fleet vehicles,” says Ronny Stechert, managing director for Germany at ExecuJet Europe. “The employees will be specially trained before this event in order to be optimally familiar with the processes. We inform customers about the PPR restriction and the expected capacity bottlenecks at all companies involved.
“The more we can plan in advance, the faster the handling process will run.”
Shifting gears
Stechert says traffic peaks are expected in the hours before the games and, for afternoon or evening games, during the mornings after too.
“For the Champions League Final in 2015, we had more than ten times as many passengers than normal on the day of the game,” says Stechert. “If necessary, we ask for additional support from local companies – for example, for towing or pushbacks.”
At Munich Airport and its general aviation terminal, an especially significant number of fans are expected to arrive – the largest share of international ticket sales (43%) of all host cities was registered for Munich in the
first sales phase.
“We endeavor to determine and communicate the operational requirements and planned processes for airlines, operators and national associations in good time,” says Ulrich Schommartz, product manager of
special procedures aviation at Munich Airport.
“In addition, we offer a central point of contact for communication with external stakeholders. This way, the relevant information is then shared within the airport network.”
The team at Munich Airport started operational preparation for the tournament in summer 2022 in collaboration with UEFA and the City of Munich.
“Team movements, for which dedicated processes for arrivals and departures have been designed, are at the center of planning,” says Schommartz. “Special procedures were developed for passenger information, signage, parking, VIP support and volunteer programs, among others.”
At Business Aviation Centre Cologne, up to triple the number of passengers flying from the hub in a normal period are expected. The team kicked off its planning by determining the scenarios they may face operating during such a large event.
“We quickly discovered that we would need more vehicles to shuttle crews and passengers as we anticipate a very high demand,” says Christopher Klüfer, COO at Business Aviation Centre and station manager for its Cologne location.
“We have now secured three additional vans to use during the event. With reference to staffing, we have put a holiday ban in place for our employees to make sure everyone is on board.”
Planning for adversity
With any large event, planning for potential problems is essential to overcome any issues that arise on the day both quickly and effectively – and this can be especially challenging when multiple stakeholders are involved.
“The main problem is that you are also dependent on other service providers such as security staff, airport operations and ground handling staff, which you can’t control but who contribute to an overall experience,” says Klüfer.
“We are in frequent meetings with the main stakeholders to share our concerns and to find solutions on how to make the experience as flawless as possible.”
“The usual issues are capacity problems, which can be particularly challenging for catering companies,” adds Stechert. “We are in close contact with the suppliers in advance so we can react to new orders and as always, the numerous changes at short notice.”
Voss believes good communication can iron out some of the more avoidable hurdles that come up – Jet Aviation prepares specific information for operators to try and anticipate any questions and requests they may have so that they can plan in advance.
“When traveling for a large event where increased traffic is expected, it is always advisable to make reservations – including parking reservations and maximum on-ground time – as far in advance as possible to ensure a smooth landing and departure,” he adds.
A special occasion
Beyond the logistical planning, the honor of hosting a global sporting event presents operators and supporting companies with an opportunity to create a memorable and unique experience for its passengers.
“We have wide experience having supported several high profile sporting, cultural and political events before, and are able to draw on our global resources to adapt operations and resources to ensure exceptional customer service and efficiency,” says Voss.
“We are also planning a number of additional amenities on site for customers and crew during the event, such as food trucks and barbecues.”
At Business Aviation Centre Cologne, the national flags of the teams playing on each respective day will be hung at the front of the facility to add to the festivities.
To keep morale high and avoid disappointment, it is recommended that football fans plan their transport, connections and accommodation well in advance of the first kick-off.
“It is imperative to plan ahead as hotels will fill up quickly,” says Klüfer. “It would also be an option to not directly stay in the host cities and to look at a town close by instead. With public transport, all the towns and cities are well connected.”
This is a sentiment shared by ExecuJet’s Stecher, who emphasizes that early hotel bookings, flight bookings and arrival plans are mandatory.
“Our very own travel concierge service called La Fugue is ready to create bespoke travel packages for charter clients or owners flying to Europe for UEFA Euro 2024,” he adds.
“We are delighted to be supporting customers traveling during this large event and are dedicated to ensuring a great trip for everyone passing through our FBO – no matter the results of the game!” concludes Voss.
