Berlin’s new airport finally opened over the weekend, almost
30 years since it was first conceived and after years of delays caused by
construction problems, concern around fire safety, the failure of key suppliers
and allegations of corruption.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt (BER), 18 kilometres
south east of the German capital, is next to the city’s former Schönefeld airport and welcomed two special flights as its first arrivals on Saturday afternoon.
EasyJet’s flight 3110 from Berlin’s main airport Tegel took
off at 1259 and landed at the new airport at 1402. Lufthansa’s LH2020 took off
from Munich at 1258 on Saturday arriving at BER at 1406. The flights were welcomed with a traditional “water salute”.
EasyJet is the largest single carrier in Berlin while the Lufthansa Group as a whole has the largest market share.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said: “As Berlin’s largest
carrier we are really excited to move all of our Berlin-based operations under
one roof at BER. We have a long history in the Berlin Brandenburg region,
operating flights since 2004 and consistently expanding our base with over 12
million passengers flying to and from Berlin with us last year alone."
He added: “We look forward to continuing to make an important
contribution to the region – connecting the vibrant city of Berlin and wider
region with the major cities and holiday destinations in Europe for many years
to come.”
EasyJet was the first airline to depart from the new airport with Sunday’s 0645 departure to London Gatwick.
Berlin Brandenburg was first mooted in 1991, just after the
reunification of East and West Germany, with the site identified in 1996. An
outline plan for the airport was finally agreed in 2000, at which time an
opening date of 2007 was suggested. Arguments over cost and conflict with local
residents meant construction did not actually start until late 2006, with an opening
date of 2011 pencilled in.
The airport was originally budgeted to cost €2.83 billion. There then followed nearly a decade of construction
problems, the failure of key suppliers, allegations of corruption and concern
around fire safety. The airport was finally awarded its operational licence in
May 2020 and the cost has ballooned to more than €7 billion.
Its opening could
not have happened at a worse time, with the world facing a global pandemic and
the aviation sector in an existential crisis; airlines are running
out of cash and Europe’s airport organsiaton say hundreds of airports
may close.
Berlin Schönefeld was initially developed as an airfield to
service a nearby aircraft manufacturing plant but following the partition of
Germany after the Second World War, it found a new role as the major civilian
airport for East Germany. In recent years, Schönefeld has been the focus for
low-cost carrier traffic. SXF was eayJet’s first base outside the UK,
established in 2004. The airport has now been absorbed into BER, dropping its
SXF designator on 24 October to become BER’s terminal 5.
Tegel, Berlin’s main airport which opened in 1960
to service West Berlin, welcomes its final flights on 7 November. Eurowings services
will move to BER on 4 November. Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Swiss services
to Tegel will fully transfer to BER on 8 November
and Brussels Airlines on 9 November.
Tempelhof, which had a historic role in supplying West Berlin
with supplies during the Berlin Airlift, closed in 2008.