What goes on behind the scenes?

While you are waiting for your transit flight in the terminal building, we are busy outside on the apron handling up to 20 aircraft at the same time. Many airport staff and the crews try to prepare the aircraft for the transit flight as quickly as possible.

Unloading the cases starts as soon as your aircraft has reached its parking position. As the aircraft contains passengers with transit flights to different destinations, it is necessary to unload all incoming aircraft completely. All cases are then taken to a central baggage sorting system, where they are sorted by destinations, discharged again and then taken to the relevant aircraft.

Once all passengers have left the aircraft, the cleaning process starts with cleaning the cabin, which takes an average of 15 minutes for a Boeing 737-800. At the same time, the Catering Service takes food and drinks on board for the transit flight.

Because the airberlin hub also operates flights to more distant destinations in the Canary Isles or Egypt, it is often necessary to change the crew in Nuremberg to avoid exceeding the permissible working time limits. After the new crew for the transit flight has arrived, it first carries out a safety check in the cabin: For example, it checks that a life jacket is available under every seat and also checks the emergency medical equipment on board. When the cabin is ready for the transit flight, the crew reports "ready for boarding" and your flight is called for boarding.

There is also a lot of work still to be done in the cockpit before take-off. For example, the required amount of jet fuel must be calculated so that the aircraft can be suitably refueled. While you are entering the aircraft, the final take-off and route calculations are being made in the cockpit. As soon as these tasks are completed, you’re  ready for take-off again!