Berlin Brandenburg Airport

This article is about a future airport for Berlin. For current and previous airports in Berlin, see List of airports in Berlin.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg (under construction)
IATA: BER – ICAO: EDDB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH
Serves	Berlin, Germany
Location	Schönefeld, Brandenburg
Elevation AMSL	157 ft / 48 m
Coordinates
Website	berlin-airport.de
Map
BER Location at the Berlin-Brandenburg border
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07L/25R 3,600 11,811 Asphalt 07R/25L 4,000 13,123 Concrete

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA: BER, ICAO: EDDB) (German: Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt) is an international airport under construction, located adjacent to the current Berlin Schönefeld Airport in Schönefeld 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of the city centre of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is intended to replace both Schönefeld and Berlin Tegel Airport, and to become the single commercial airport serving Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg, an area with a combined 6 million inhabitants. With a projected annual passenger number of around 27 million, Berlin Brandenburg Airport would become the third busiest airport in Germany, surpassing Düsseldorf Airport, and one of the fifteen busiest in Europe.

Air Berlin, Germanwings and easyJet are expected to become the leading carriers at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, having announced the intent to relocate and keep their hub / base operations there which they currently maintain at Tegel and Schönefeld airports today.

Originally planned to open in 2010, Berlin Brandenburg Airport has encountered a series of delays due to poor construction planning, management, execution and corruption. Unfinished construction and corrective work means an opening prior to late 2016 is unlikely according to the WSP CBP time frame. Remarks made in August 2014, by airport CEO Hartmut Mehdorn, point toward 2017 or 2018. Mehdorn announced no opening date as expected 14 October 2014, so a special commission established by the Brandenburg Parliament will retain oversight of the project. Current estimates suggest that the airport will open in 2018 or 2019, at the latest.

Citing dissatisfaction with construction progress, members of the airport board indicated during their 8 December 2014 meeting that they were beginning the search for a new CEO, although Mehdorn's contract runs through 2016. One week later, Mehdorn announced he would resign his position as soon as the board names a successor, but no later than June 2015. Mehdorn ceased all public offices as of 21 May 2015 for health concerns. His successor is Carsten Muehlenfeld, former head of Rolls Royce Germany. Berlin's mayor Michael Müller was appointed to become the new head of the control board (Aufsichtsrat) on 3 July 2015. Meanwhile, Müller doubted Mühlenfeld, mainly for the opening date.

Current total costs amount to €5.4 billion. Additional plans suggest additional costs amounting to an extra €2.19 billion. As of 3 June 2015, Germany applied for an additional €2.5 billion spending approval at the EU, in addition to the previous total of €4.3 billion. Total costs thus mount to €6.8 billion. The EU will only permit an additional €2.2 billion. Although the airport has yet to open, officials are planning a possible third runway for approximately €1 billion and other new projects such as an additional terminal, expanded baggage system and another freight facility. The total additional spending would amount to €3.2 billion. The board warned of a further rise in costs because the airport will not open before 2017. The current time-cost frame is limited to 2016.

History

Aviation in Schönefeld

A view of the apron of Berlin Schönefeld Airport (1990).

Berlin Brandenburg Airport is located just south of Berlin Schönefeld Airport, which opened as an airfield to accommodate the local Henschel aircraft plant on 15 October 1934. During the Battle of Berlin, on 22 April 1945, Soviet troops occupied the airfield. In 1946, the headquarters of the Soviet Air Forces moved to Schönefeld from Johannisthal Air Field, and commercial flights (initially by Aeroflot) began.

During the following years, Schönefeld Airport became the most important civilian airport in the newly founded German Democratic Republic (East Germany), with national flag carrier Interflug based there. In 1976, the modern passenger terminal currently known as Terminal A opened.

Plans for a new Berlin Airport

Map showing the infrastructure of the Schönefeld area and the relationship between the new and old airports

Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the German federal capital and leaders made plans to recognise the city's increased importance by constructing a large commercial airport, as Tegel Airport, Schönefeld Airport and Tempelhof Airport were aging and becoming increasingly congested due to rising passenger numbers. To ensure the economical viability of the project, they pursued the single airport concept, which meant that the new airport would become the sole commercial airport for Berlin and Brandenburg. As a consequence, they planned to close Tegel, Schönefeld and Tempelhof upon opening the new airport, and to ban commercial aviation from any other airport in Brandenburg.

On 2 May 1991, the Berlin Brandenburg Flughafen Holding GmbH (BBF) was founded, owned by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg (37 percent each) and the Federal Republic of Germany (the remaining 26 percent). Eberhard Diepgen, Mayor of Berlin, became the first chairman of the supervisory board. The holding company announced on 20 June 1993 that Sperenberg Airfield, Jüterbog Airfield and the area south of Schönefeld Airport — the final choice, were considered possible sites for the new airport, with each site advocated by various factions in the ensuing political discussion. Concerning land-use planning and noise issues, rural Sperenberg and Jüterbog were considered more suitable for construction of a large airport. Economics favored an airport located near the city center with existing road and rail links (as it is the case with Schönefeld).

On 28 May 1996, Mayor Diepgen, Minister-President of Brandenburg Manfred Stolpe and Federal Minister for Transport Matthias Wissmann committed to Schönefeld as the site for the new airport. This so-called consensus decision was later affirmed by the respective state legislatures. The new airport will even use some infrastructure, such as a runway, from the current Schönefeld Airport.

Failed privatization

Originally, BBF hoped the new airport would be owned and operated by a private investor. They called for proposals, which led to two bidding consortia emerging as serious contenders. One was led by Hochtief, through its Hochtief Airport subsidiary, and included ABB, Fraport and Bankengesellschaft Berlin as partners. The other was comprised IVG, Flughafen Wien AG, Dorsch-Consult, Commerzbank and Caisse des Dépôts. On 19 September 1998, BBF announced that the Hochtief consortium had been granted the exclusive authority to negotiate the terms and conditions for an acquisition of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport holding and the construction and subsequent operation of the new airport for a 50 years period.

On 31 March 1999, BBF officially commissioned Hochtief and its partners to construct the new airport, causing IVG to file a lawsuit. The Brandenburg Oberlandesgericht indeed acknowledged the concerns voiced by IVG. In its review, it found that in certain points, the assessment of the applications had been biased towards Hochtief, which led to annulment of the contract award on 3 August of that year.

In a new attempt to receive the contract to construct and operate the new airport, Hochtief Airport and IVG teamed up and created a plan for a joint bid on 10 November 2000. At the time, BBF hoped that the planning approval could be completed in 2002, with the tentative opening in 2007.

When Hochtief/IVG submitted its bid in February 2002, the BBF board consisted of Manfred Stolpe, now Federal Minister of Transportation; Klaus Wowereit, who replaced Eberhard Diepgen as Mayor of Berlin and chair of the board; and Matthias Platzeck, who replaced Stolpe as Minister-President of Brandenburg. The board determined that the proposal would not be practical and voted 22 May 2003 to scrap the privatization plan. Hochtief and IVG received approximately €50 million compensation for their planning effort.

Public ownership and construction permit

The new Berlin airport would be planned, owned and operated by BBF Holding, which became Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB) shortly afterwards, and remained under the ownership of Berlin, Brandenburg and the federal government. On 13 August 2004, the Brandenburg state ministry for infrastructure and regional policy granted approval for the development of Schönefeld Airport into new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport.

A legal battle ensued, as local residents filed lawsuits against the ministry's decision. It terminated 16 March 2006, when the Federal Administrative Court of Germany rejected the residents' arguments, but imposed stipulations on the flight operations at the new airport. Thus, the construction permit was granted only under the condition that once operational, the number of people living in the approach path would be lower, compared to the situation surrounding the three existing airports — Tegel, Schönefeld, Tempelhof. Therefore, it was mandatory for Tegel and Schönefeld to close (Tempelhof was already decommissioned in 2008) once Berlin's air traffic is concentrated at the new airport.

Financing

By 2006, the construction cost was budgeted at €2.83 billion, which FBB achieved by a credit raising of €2.4 billion, a bank deposit of €430 million by the FBB partners, and an additional €440 million of equity capital provided by FBB.

During construction, it became clear that the airport would become significantly more expensive due to underestimating the actual costs in an over-optimistic calculation; construction flaws; and increased expenses for soundproofing nearby homes. The series of delays in opening is expected to lead to a number of lawsuits against FBB, which may result in large-scale damage compensation for the affected airlines and airport businesses. Air Berlin already announced its intention of such a move.

By late 2012, expenditures for Berlin Brandenburg Airport totalled €4.3 billion, nearly twice the originally anticipated figure.

It became clear in November 2015 that the financial concept of the airport will remain fundamentally flawed. The main purpose of the bunch of stores designed by the airport was to serve flight changers who were about to change planes for Berlin was a big international hub. It was outspoken then for the first time that competition between the hubs was already too stiff and that Frankfurt and Heathrow wouldn't loose passenger contingents (shares) without a price war. So airlines wouldn't leave their hubs and the only remaining potential airline for doing the hub thing, air Berlin, is in financial difficulties and won't provide long distance service anytime soon. So big throughput/profit through store rent etc. will remain elusive.

German Railways Deutsche Bahn will sue for non-usage of the ghost station below the airport

In November 2015 Brandenburg's Comptroller Rechnungshof came to the conclusion that comptrolling executed by Berlin and Brandenburg and Germany over the airport as owners was insufficient and inefficient.

Naming

The airport is named after Nobel Peace Laureate Willy Brandt, former Mayor of West Berlin and Chancellor of West Germany

During much of the planning and construction phase, the new airport was known as Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, abbreviated BBI. When the planned and missed opening date of 2 June 2012 drew nearer, the FBB launched a marketing campaign introducing the BER branding, reflecting the new airport code.

In 2007, the FBB board decided that Berlin Brandenburg Airport would be given a second name, honoring a person with a distinctive link to the city of Berlin. On 11 December 2009, the decision was made in favor of Willy Brandt. The Nobel Peace laureate of 1971 served as mayor of West Berlin from 1957 to 1966 and as West German chancellor from 1969 to 1974. Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit and Minister-President of Brandenburg Matthias Platzeck, both members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) which Brandt led from 1964 to 1987, led the effort to add Brandt's name to the airport.

Other suggested honorees included Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg; Albert Einstein and Marlene Dietrich, from members of the Christian Democratic Union; Gustav Stresemann, by the Free Democratic Party; and Otto Lilienthal, advocated by the Green Party.

Construction progress

To make way for the new airport, two villages were removed. The 335 inhabitants of Diepensee received compensation and were offered new homes in Königs Wusterhausen, a move that was completed by late 2004. The 35 villagers of Selchow were resettled to Großziethen in mid-2005.

After nearly 15 years of planning, actual construction work for Berlin Brandenburg Airport began 5 September 2006.

In November 2007, the BER-Infotower opened, a 32 metres (105 ft) high public observation tower and information center, part of the airport's visitor facilities. The transparent and twisted structure was originally intended to be temporary, but the decision to retain was made during construction.

Construction of the terminal building began in July 2008. On 8 and 9 May 2010, the airport celebrated topping out with open days at the airport site. On 30 October 2011, the railway line and terminal station were ready for service, however until the opening no scheduled trains will operate.

Operating tests and service trials began 24 November 2011, based on the anticipated opening date of 3 June 2012. A total of 12,000 volunteers participated in simulated check-in, security screening, boarding and baggage claim. The tests used 15,000 pieces of luggage in the automated baggage processing system and covered nighttime operations and emergency scenarios. This phase also saw the acceptance tests of various airport systems. It became clear 8 May 2012, that the building could not open on schedule due to failure of the fire protection system. All trials halted and have not resumed.

Delayed opening and construction flaws

Construction work as of July 2010

Timeline

The construction of Berlin Brandenburg Airport has suffered from continued delays. As of January 2013, FBB has announced and canceled four official opening dates.

When construction of the terminal building began in 2006, FBB announced 30 October 2011 as the opening day for the new facility. A few days after the 14 June 2010 topping out ceremony, FBB announced that construction deadlines could not be met, and postponed the opening to 3 June 2012. This was blamed to the bankruptcy of pg bbi, the construction planning company. As the new date drew nearer, airlines amended their timetables to reflect their plans to operate from BER, and airport shops and restaurants prepared for the opening. As the airports in Tegel and Schönefeld were to close once the last flights of 2 June had been serviced, a major logistics operation for moving the airports' infrastructure was launched. Vehicles, equipment and supplies that were needed at Tegel until the final moments would have been transported to BER during the night of 2–3 June. To allow this, the authorities planned to restrict the highways linking the two airports (A113, A100 and parts of A111) for airport traffic only. Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg, the national broadcaster for Berlin and Brandenburg, scheduled 24 hours of continuous live coverage of the airport move. A special Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt Airport, operated with an Airbus A380, was scheduled as the first departure from the new airport 3 June at 06:00.

Just 26 days before the move, 8 May 2012, FBB again postponed the opening date, canceling moving plans and in some cases, reversing actions already completed. It cited technical difficulties primarily concerning the fire safety and smoke exhaust systems for the delay. As a result, FBB dismissed Manfred Körtgen, the director for technical affairs, and replaced him with Horst Amann. It also announced 17 March 2013 as new opening date for BER, however, this was soon met by doubts due to the large number of construction flaws and problems that inspectors continued to find.

In early September 2012, FBB further postponed the opening to 27 October 2013. Again, media and experts were constantly voicing doubts and concerns about this deadline, most notably Peter Ramsauer, Federal Minister for Construction and Infrastructure.

FBB announced 6 January 2013, that BER would be further delayed, at least until 2014, but did not announce a definite opening date. As a consequence, Klaus Wowereit resigned as chairman of the supervisory board, and was replaced by Matthias Platzeck, who previously had served as his deputy. The board also dismissed Rainer Schwarz, the CEO of FBB, 16 January. FBB named Hartmut Mehdorn, previously CEO of Deutsche Bahn (1999–2011) and Air Berlin (2011–2013), as Schwarz's replacement 8 March 2013. On 8 January 2014, FBB announced the airport would not open in 2014; and 24 February, Hartmut Mehdorn stated it would be unlikely the airport would open before 2016.

On 20 March 2015, Mehdorn again faced questions from the Investigative Commission of Berlin's parliament although the previous week, Karsten Muehlenfeld replaced him as airport CEO.

A former manager for BER was taken into remand for alleged bribery on 13 May 2015. An Imtech manager is alleged to have given bribes in an envelope on a highway gas station in 2012 to a BER manager. Imtech built parts of the infamous fire exhaustion system.

The German branch of (Dutch) Royal Imtech filed for bankruptcy as of 6 August 2015. As a result, Martin Delius, leading the commission of enquiry on the failures during the airports construction, stated that the planned opening in late 2017 was doubtful. The parent company of German Imtech went also bankrupt a few days after its German dependency.

In mid-August 2015 new allegations of corruption were published in the Bild newspaper. According to the paper, some large contractors subsequently filed additional demands after completion of a respective project within BER and received the complete requested payment almost without any objections. Lawyers reviewing the process stated the high percentage, at which those claims were met, as unique and outstanding. As a result, all payments, made since the beginning of the project, are to be revisioned.

An opening in 2017 has become unlikely as of August 2015.

Construction failures

The major issue for the delayed opening is that the fire protection and alarm system in the terminal building was not built according to the construction permit, and failed the mandatory acceptance test necessary for the airport to open. FBB proposed an interim solution employing up to 700 human fire spotters which the building supervision department of the local Dahme-Spreewald district rejected. Inspectors have uncovered flaws concerning the wiring, programming and implementing of the highly complex system designed by Siemens and Bosch which automatically controls sprinklers, smoke extractors and fire doors. For aesthetics, designers decided that the terminal would have smoke extraction ducts in its roof, but not on its rooftop. In case of fire, smoke would be pumped from the roof into exhaust ducts running down and below the structure, requiring the natural rising behavior of hot air in the duct to be reversed. Achieving this on the scale necessary for this airport is a unique undertaking and, thus far, this elaborate smoke extraction system has not worked as planned. To meet the requirements for the fire system to pass the acceptance test, large scale reconstruction work might be needed.

The insolvency of general planner Planungsgemeinschaft Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg International (pg bbi) and the dismissal of the Gerkan, Marg and Partners architects, who bore partial blame for the problems, had a widespread impact on construction. Inspectors have uncovered many examples of poor workmanship due to a lack of proper supervision and documentation, most notably concerning the wiring. Reports have surfaced about cable conduits which hold too many cables or in incompatible combinations, such as phone lines and high voltage wires. A total of 60 kilometres (37 mi) of cooling pipes were allegedly installed with no thermal insulation. To correct this, the demolition of numerous walls may be necessary. Furthermore, exterior vents appear to be in improper locations, allowing rain water from the western façade to enter them. The 18 km (11 mi) long exhaust system to remove smoke from a fire is leaking.

The initial design for the main hall, known as "monster" to construction workers, called for a single exhaust system. Revised plans call for multiple systems controlled by 90 km (56 mi) of wiring. As of 19 May 2014, Siemens has not yet designed the wire harnesses. These problems are forcing the initial construction budget to skyrocket.

BBI sought to open the north pier for use by three to ten flights per day as a test, though other parts of the airport will not be operational for some time. It requested that Technischer Überwachungsverein (Technical Inspection Association, TÜV) review the facility for safety and compliance to Brandenburg building codes. In its assessment report issued 29 July 2014, TÜV found that some lightning rods were missing and that the back-up generator powering the sprinkler system did not provide adequate power. One source with the TÜV stated, “What the airport ordered was sufficient for a circus tent, but [if power fails] not for the dimensions of the terminal.”

When Mehdorn testified before the Investigations Commission of the Berlin parliament in March 2015, he stated that redesigns to the correction of the exhaust system will not be complete until "after the summer break" and that the terminal will not be finished until "March/April". To resolve the smoke ventilation problems with "the monster", it is being divided into several smaller systems and ducts added to clear smoke from inside the terminal.

The main construction permission, i. e. the permission the authority of Berlin issues to construction firms, is destined to expire. Thus the entire construction work is bound to terminate on 23 November 2016. A new law, referred to as a "Lex BER", is proposed to avoid any collision with construction authorities by extending construction permission for ongoing projects indefinitely.

The search for a general planner was eventually stopped by February 2015, at the end of August 2015 though the new airport head presented Schüßler plan as the new one.

An immediate halt to all construction efforts concerning the terminal was ordered on 21 September 2015 because a collapse of the main roof was imminent according to construction supervision of district Dahme-Spreewald. The shutdown took 2 weeks. Furthermore, 600 fire protection walls have to be exchanged right now which were erroneously built out of gas concrete blocks and are as of such insufficient fire protection. The mortar was inadequate as well. The ventilator stabilization problem was known for 5 years. Businessmen who planed to open a store in the terminal in 2012 for the opening are determined to sue soon as of dec 15.

Airport overview

Planned layout of the airport, 2012

Runways

Berlin Brandenburg Airport will have two parallel runways. With a spacing of , these will allow independent flight operations without interference from wake turbulence.

The northern runway of BER is the southern runway of the old Schönefeld Airport, and has been in use since the 1960s. To adapt to the new airport, it has been renovated and lengthened from .

The newly built southern runway has a length of and was officially commissioned 31 May 2012. Until the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, it is closed per NOTAM.

Rampant blackouts of the runway beacon of the southern runway which is currently in use (as of September 2015) led to further investigations concerning air traffic security.

Air traffic control

The air traffic control tower of Berlin Brandenburg Airport (2012).

The Deutsche Flugsicherung is responsible for air traffic control and apron control at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. At , the control tower is the third highest in Germany (only surpassed by Munich Airport and Düsseldorf Airport). On 25 March 2012, the new tower opened replacing the former facility at Schönefeld.

Passenger terminal

The main pier

File:Terminal-BER.png

Terminal layout (from left to right: level 2, level 1, intermediate level Z and level 0)

The U-shaped terminal building of Berlin Brandenburg Airport was designed by gmp architects, which previously designed the hexagonal Terminal A at Tegel Airport, opened in 1974. At BER, the terminal sits between the two runways, creating a so-called midfield airport above the underground train station. The terminal has four public levels designated 0, 1, 2 and 3.

The check-in area is located in the public area at Level 1 and houses 118 counters organised in eight clusters, called check-in isles. Planners anticipate that a significant number of passengers will use the more than 100 self check-in machines which will be installed. Additionally, by May 2015 two extensions had been added to both sides of the main check-in area containing 12 more check-in counters and eight security lanes each to avoid overcrowding of the main hall.

The airside area will be accessible only to ticketed and screened passengers. Securitas Germany will staff the 35 screening stations. BER is equipped with 25 jet bridges, with another 85 aircraft stands on the apron. The boarding and arrival areas are divided into three piers with the main pier at long and the north and south piers at each. The main pier contains 16 jet-bridges; all but one have two levels, thus separating arriving and departing passengers. Level 1 is intended for Schengen passengers (gates A01–A20, B01–B20), while Level 2 (gates C01–C19, D01–D17) is for non-Schengen passengers. Eight of the gates can accommodate wide-body aircraft and one gate has been designed to accommodate the Airbus A380, the largest commercial airliner currently in use. The apron has sufficient space to allow installation of a dual jetway allowing a quick boarding and disembarking process. A mezzanine (Level Z) at gates A21–22 and B21 allows for additional pre-boarding security checks for high-risk flights to the United States and Israel. Air Berlin, Lufthansa and Air France/KLM will operate airport lounges in the main pier, which will also be open for passengers of the respective alliance partners.

The main hall of the terminal

The south pier is reserved for near-exclusive use of Air Berlin and its Oneworld partners and contains nine single-storey jet bridges (gates A30–A38). The north pier features a more minimalist design compared to the other two piers, meeting the demands of low-cost carriers and has no jet-bridges, but walk-boarding-gates (B30–45) with direct apron access.

Cargo and general aviation

The initial module of the midfield cargo facilities has a capacity of 60,000 tonnes (59,000 long tons; 66,000 short tons) of cargo per year. With the completion of all planned expansions, this could handle up to 600,000 tonnes (590,000 long tons; 660,000 short tons) per year. The general aviation terminal is located in the northern part of BER.

Airport tourism facilities

The Infotower is a 32 metres (105 ft) observation tower located adjacent to the northern cargo terminal. It includes a museum and a gift shop, and is the only portion of the airport currently open to the public. FBB also offers guided tours of the airport which have grown in popularity since the delayed opening.

Aircraft maintenance

The two large hangars at BER will be used by Lufthansa and Air Berlin respectively. Both provide enough space for maintenance work on four to five narrow-body aircraft.

Government use

The air transport wing of the German Defence Ministry (Flugbereitschaft), responsible for government flights, will move to Berlin Brandenburg Airport from its current base at Cologne Bonn Airport. It operates a fleet of Bombardier Global Express, Airbus A319, Airbus A310 and Airbus A340-300 VIP configured aircraft. The Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben (Federal Agency for Real Estate) is planning to construct a terminal on the northern edge of the airport for use by government officials and to welcome foreign dignitaries during state visits. The glass-and-wood building is expected to be completed by 2016. The former Terminal A of Schönefeld Airport is serving as an interim terminal.

Operating hours

Due to noise protection regulations enshrined in the operating licence of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, no take-offs or landings are allowed between midnight and 0500. The Federal Administrative Court of Germany rejected a lawsuit by residents aiming to extend this night flight ban from 2300 to 0600 on 13 October 2011. It was also ruled that affected residents should be provided with additional installed noise insulation.

Projected passenger volume and expansion plans

Since the German reunification, air traffic in Berlin has grown greatly. In 1991, the combined passenger volume of the city's airports was at 7.9 million per year. By 2014, this number had risen to 28 million. When Berlin Brandenburg opens, it will have a capacity of 27 million passengers per year. It may be expanded by up to two satellite concourses, bringing the terminal capacity to 45 million with runways capable of accommodating 50 million passengers per year. The two satellites, located on the apron parallel to the main pier and linked by tunnel, are included in the construction permit of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, meaning they could be built at any time without further regulatory hurdles or the possibility of third-party objections. A possible third runway could be located in the south, though no such plans exist to date.

Expected airlines and destinations

Main articles: Berlin Tegel Airport § Airlines and destinations, and Berlin Schönefeld Airport § Airlines and destinations

Map of scheduled intercontinental destinations offered at Berlin Tegel Airport in 2012

Air Berlin will move its primary hub from Tegel to Berlin Brandenburg. As a member of the Oneworld global airline alliance, Air Berlin requires airport facilities capable meeting the demands of its connecting passengers which Tegel cannot provide.

With the expected opening of BER 3 June 2012, Lufthansa greatly expanded its presence in Berlin at its interim facilities at Tegel Airport by adding several intra-European destinations. Over the coming years, Lufthansa plans to have all European flights that do not originate or terminate at either Frankfurt Airport or Munich Airport operated by its Germanwings subsidiary, which will likely become one of the largest tenants at BER.

EasyJet will become the leading low-cost carrier at BER in terms of routes served, relocating its current Schönefeld base. If their respective plans concerning Berlin services do not change, Germania and Condor would each have an aircraft base at the new airport.

Projected traffic data

Combined total passengers at Berlin Tegel and Berlin Schönefeld Airports in 2010

Air Berlin (left) and Germanwings (right) are expected to become the dominant carriers at BER

EasyJet (left) and Germania (right) plan to base aircraft at the new airport

Destination	Airport(s)	Passengers
Germany, Munich	Munich	1,816,693
Germany, Frankfurt	Frankfurt	1,610,372
Germany, Cologne/Bonn	Cologne Bonn	1,379,294
United Kingdom, London	Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Southend, Stansted	1,281,842
Germany, Stuttgart	Stuttgart	985,857
Germany, Düsseldorf	Düsseldorf	930,865
France, Paris	Charles de Gaulle, Orly	884,195
Switzerland, Zurich	Zurich	802,464
Spain, Palma de Mallorca	Palma de Mallorca	584,709
Austria, Vienna	Vienna	554,663
Turkey, Antalya	Antalya	435,545
Netherlands, Amsterdam	Amsterdam	432,187
Russia, Moscow	Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo	431,007
Turkey, Istanbul	Atatürk, Sabiha Gökçen	406,063
Spain, Madrid	Madrid	397,646

Access

See also: Transport in Berlin

Rail

Map of future bus and rail connections into and around Berlin. An express line will serve the Berlin Hauptbahnhof in 30 minutes.

Main article: Berlin Brandenburg Airport railway station

The terminal connects to a 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) east-west railway tunnel under the apron and the terminal complex. As the nine tunnel sections were the first structures to be built, they were constructed by conventional excavations.

A railway station with six tracks forms the lowest level of the terminal. Two tracks serve as a terminus for the S-Bahn – with the S9 serving the northern and the S45 serving the southern public transit ring, while the other four tracks handle EuroCity, InterCity, Intercity-Express and Regional-Express trains.

Deutsche Bahn confirmed in August 2011 that multiple daily Intercity-Express and InterCity trains will connect the airport to Bielefeld, Hannover, Hamburg, Dresden, Leipzig, Halle, Wolfsburg, as well as EuroCity trains connecting to Wrocław and Kraków in Poland, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Prague in the Czech Republic.

About half of the passengers are expected to access BER by rail. An express line (Regionalbahn) will connect the airport with the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin main station) in 30 minutes. Two more stops, Potsdamer Platz and Berlin Südkreuz, will be part of the Airport Express, which is planned to make the distance in just under 20 minutes by 2015, when a new train track will be inaugurated. Over 10% of passengers are expected to come from Poland, also thanks to upgraded highways on the Polish side of the border, making the airport accessible for air travellers from the western regions of that country.

Road

Map of motorways in Berlin

The Berlin Brandenburg Airport is connected by its own exit to the freeway A113, which carries traffic into Berlin to the city freeway A100 and out to the outer city freeway ring A10 where it continues south as the freeway A13 in the direction of Dresden. The highway 96a along the north side of the airport is being expanded to four lanes towards Potsdam.

Four car parks and a car rental centre will be completed by the opening of BER. Around 10,000 parking spaces will be available in four multi-storey car parks.

Bus

Public transport connections at the new airport will include numerous bus services. Express buses X7 and X11 will connect BER and U-Bahn Rudow of underground line U7, every five minutes. The X11 bus continues to Lichterfelde-West and to Dahlem. Other bus lines also stop at a number of stations, providing connections with Berlin’s public transport network and destinations in Brandenburg.

Commercial and exposition area

Berlin Air Show (ILA)

File:F-WWIQ Airbus A320 sharklet ILA 2012 02.jpg

Visitors to the Berlin Air Show watching a flight display of an Airbus A320 (2012)

On 3 July 2012, the Berlin ExpoCenter Airport opened on the southeastern portion of the airport grounds. Messe Berlin operates the 250,000-square-metre (2,700,000 sq ft) exposition facility which is primarily intended as the site of the biennial Berlin Air Show.

Airport Information Center

Coinciding with groundbreaking for construction of the new airport, an information and public relations center called airportworld opened near the old Schönefeld Airport. On 14 November 2007, the Infotower, a 32 metres (105 ft) public viewing tower containing an exhibition about the new airport, opened on the BER construction site.

Business park

The area surrounding BER is zoned as a commercial district. Plans call for the construction of shopping centers and parking structures as well as industrial, commercial and office spaces. Situated directly at the terminal complex will be the BER Airport City with an area of 16 hectares (40 acres). Marketing of the real estate began in autumn 2006 and beginning in 2009 offices, hotels, car rentals, four parking decks with a capacity of 10,000, restaurants and retailers were built here.

To the north is the BER Business Park Berlin with a planned area of 109 hectares (270 acres) for industrial and commercial use as well as congress centers. A further Business Park North was proposed as a future use of the area of the old Schönefeld terminal. However, so far there are no definite plans for the future use of this area.

Controversies

In September 2010, Deutsche Flugsicherung published aircraft arrival and departure paths for Berlin Brandenburg Airport, which significantly differ from earlier ones used in the court decision for the construction permit. In the original maps, aircraft were expected to take off and land in a path parallel with the runway. The new plans saw flight paths that deviate from the runway direction by 15 degrees. Therefore, aircraft would now fly over areas in southern Berlin (Lichtenrade, Steglitz and Zehlendorf) and adjacent Brandenburg (Teltow, Stahnsdorf, Kleinmachnow and Potsdam) to the surprise of local residents, which prompted a wave of protests and a lawsuit which the courts rejected.

Both the expansion of Schönefeld Airport into BER and the quality of the connection to the railway network are the subject of public debate. The Bürgerverein Brandenburg-Berlin e.V. represents local residents who protest an expansion of air traffic to and from the south of Berlin. Also, traffic and environmental experts criticise the late completion dates for the fast connection to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Still, Berlin Hauptbahnhof will be only a 30-minute journey with trains departing every 15 minutes upon inauguration. By 2020, this should be reduced to 20 minutes after reconstruction of the Dresdner bahn.

Due to the rising passenger numbers of the Berlin airports and the delays of BER, concerns were voiced that the new airport might be too small as Tegel and Schonefeld airports saw 1 million more passengers in 2014 than Brandenburg airport's design capacity, especially the area housing check-in. Also, there are doubts about its economic viability once opened.

See also

• Transport in Germany
• List of airports in Germany
• List of world's most expensive transport infrastructure
• Megaprojects

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Live webcam of the construction site on berlin-airport.de
• Current weather for EDDB at NOAA/NWS