The CEO of the company that owns Berlin International Airport (Berlin Brandenburg Airport – BER), Engelbert Luetke Daldrup, stated during a supervisory board meeting that the new airport will be inaugurated on October 31, 2020.
Intended to replace the existing airports – Tegel in West Berlin and Schonefeld in the East – Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt International Airport (BER) was originally scheduled for a festive inauguration on June 3, 2012.
With the repeated postponement of the opening date and the extension of construction work, the project costs have also increased. While these costs were initially estimated at EUR 1.7 billion, they have tripled so far.
Analyst warn that there is a risk that BER will be too small to handle the number of passengers right from its inauguration, given the explosive growth in the number of tourists.
Tegel and Schonefeld airports served 33 million passengers, while the new airport is designed to have an initial capacity of 27 million passengers, a capacity that can be expanded to 45 million passengers.
Source: Economica
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the new Berlin airport open?
Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BER) is scheduled to open on October 31, 2020, following a nine-year delay.
Why was the project delayed and how much did it cost?
The project faced multiple construction delays, causing costs to triple from an initial estimate of 1.7 billion EUR to over 5 billion EUR.
Will the new airport have enough capacity for all passengers?
While initial capacity is 27 million passengers, analysts worry it may be too small given that existing airports already serve 33 million; however, it can be expanded to 45 million.