A method for operating an apparatus for sterilising containers where the containers are each held and are transported along a predefined path by means of a movable carrier, and a plurality of sterilisation units are arranged on the carrier, each having rod-like bodies that are introduced into the containers and apply charge carriers onto an internal wall of the containers. The charge carriers exit through an exit window of the rod-like bodies, as the charge carriers move in a longitudinal direction relative to the rod-like bodies.
