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The new Berlin-Brandenburg airport has opened after years of delays. An Easyjet Airbus A320 took the first passengers to the new Schönefeld terminal near Berlin. Flight 3110 started at Berlin’s Tegel Airport, which is scheduled to close on November 8. Soon after, a Lufthansa plane from Munich landed with numerous guests on board.
For safety reasons, the aircraft did not land in parallel on both runways as planned, but on the north runway at a distance of a good four minutes. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play along, said Patrick Muller, head of processes at the capital’s BER airport.
The opening of the new airport was originally announced for October 30, 2011. However, construction was marked by planning errors, technical problems and construction defects. The inauguration was postponed six times, and constant delays and cost increases had provoked popular mockery.
Spohr, Lufthansa boss: “I still can’t believe it”
BER chief Engelbert Lütke Daldrup recently spoke about the fact that German engineers were embarrassed by the setbacks and announced that they would not have a grand opening ceremony. The construction cost, including noise protection, was around six billion euros, three times the originally estimated price.
Even after commissioning, the airport is likely to be off to a rocky start. Due to Corona restrictions, aviation is in its worst crisis since World War II. Only a few thousand passengers per day are expected at BER for the next several weeks. The first passengers should take off from there on Sunday.
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr had called the inauguration a “historic day”. “I still can’t believe it,” he joked shortly before the Munich start. Lufthansa was founded in Berlin and is pleased that there is now an airport that “does our country justice”.
Climate activists used the opening to protest against pollution caused by aviation. Several protesters climbed onto the roof of an entrance building and rappelled down. One unfurled a banner with a protest slogan: “Stop the planes instead of destroying the weather.” Various organizations and environmental initiatives such as Fridays for Future or the “Stay on the Ground” alliance convened rallies and demonstration trains by bicycle and on foot.
Tegel on hold for another six months, for safety
The upcoming closure of the former Tegels airport is intended to relieve hundreds of thousands of people from aircraft noise and create space for a research and commercial location. To be sure, the airport in the west of the city will remain operational for another six months. The traditional Tempelhof Airport has been closed since 2008. The site is open to citizens like a park.
The terminal of the former GDR central airport in Schönefeld will initially remain as part of BER. BER is also taking over a runway at the old airport. The new second runway will go into operation on November 4, when night flights will be banned for the first time.
Construction of the new terminal had gotten out of hand due to the lack of a general contractor and numerous rescheduling. In 2012, the opening was canceled a few weeks before the date. The next job involved a renovation of the new building. For years it was rebuilt, especially for fire protection.
The government terminal on the BER site has been in operation since last week. Another passenger terminal is ready, but it shouldn’t come into operation until next year due to the crown-related collapse in passenger numbers.
According to the operator, the three BER terminals together can handle up to 41 million passengers a year. The economic plan assumes around 18 million for next year, half that in 2019.
