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Berlin’s new airport is scheduled to finally open today, after nine years of delays and skyrocketing costs.
The timing couldn’t be worse, with the global aviation industry faces its deepest crisis as a result of the pandemic.
Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport (BER) is already seeking additional funds to pay its debts, which can be challenging given that passenger traffic it is not expected to return to normal until 2024.
The project was described as “cursed” by some media outlets.
An initial budget of 2.7 billion euros (2.4 billion pounds) more than doubled to 5.9 billion euros (5.3 billion pounds).
Chief Executive Engelbert Luetke Daldrup told reporters last month that the delay in opening had made Berlin and Germany “a laughing stock.”
“We German engineers were embarrassed,” he added.
He said there will be “no big party” but the occasion will be marked by EasyJet making a parallel landing alongside a Lufthansa plane.
The UK’s largest airline will fly an A320neo aircraft from Berlin Tegel to the new airport.
Built on the site of the Schoenefeld Airport in the former East Berlin, it was originally intended to be a symbol of a united country after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
BER has four times more space than the small Tegel airport that will close next week
BER will replace both Schoenefeld and Tegel, another Cold War era airport in the former West Berlin.
It is named after former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, who opened relations with the eastern bloc in the early 1970s.
The project’s problems began in 2010 when the first opening was delayed because the construction planning company went bankrupt and stricter European safety standards were introduced.
The airport presents a picture of former German Chancellor Willy Brandt
In 2012 a fire safety system was found to be faulty, causing construction to stop.
An opening ceremony planned just a few weeks later with Chancellor Angel Merkel was abruptly canceled.
A whistleblower who had denounced corruption in the project was allegedly poisoned in 2016, triggering an investigation by prosecutors.
General view of Terminal 1 of the airport.
Faulty lighting systems, too short escalators, insufficient space for lucrative shops – these were just some of the problems that plagued the project, described as “cursed” by some media outlets.
Former city mayor Klaus Wowereit was blamed for budget overruns and later resigned for what he called his “biggest failure” after 13 years in power.
BER has four times more space than the small Tegel airport that is closing next week, which suffered complaints of overcrowding, poor services and poor transport connections.
Originally, the airport was intended to be a symbol of a united country after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
It sits atop a new train station that will get passengers to and from central Berlin in minutes.
Ironically, the expanded 55m passenger capacity may not be necessary for years to come given the drop in air travel.
The centerpiece of the airport is “Flying Carpet,” a 999-meter-long red aluminum sculpture by Californian artist Pae White that dominates the check-in hall.
