I just saw a statement that the new Berlin Airport (BER) has delayed its opening. That will be good news for all those who love good old Tegel. Meanwhile flights are still going into Schoenefeld as usual.
Here is their full statement:
Berlin, 8 May 2012 Flughafen Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH announced today that the new airport Berlin Brandenburg (BER) will not open on schedule on 3 June. Technical problems in the field of fire protection engineering make a postponement indispensable.
Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin, stresses: “This is a responsible decision. In the interest of the tourism and convention destination Berlin a launch of BER on a safe and comfortable basis is better than a possibly bumpy start, which impairs the arrival and departure of our guests.”
Kieker continues: “What we now expect is a calm approach and an opening date which will demonstrate the full qualities of the new airport.”
Berlin can be easily reached through the existing airports Schönefeld and Tegel; all flights to and from Berlin can be carried out as scheduled. At the beginning of the year Berlin recorded a double-digit growth in room nights, and visitBerlin expects a further positive development during the months to come.
Meanwhile, Air Berlin has said it will keep operating its flights as usual from Tegel until the new airport opens although it may have to make a few changes to its schedule. I guess the guys over at Heathrow who messed up the move to Terminal Five (the new British Airways terminal) must be laughing into their tea.
