The chances of preventing the new airport from opening once more are getting smaller and smaller. The major project now has all the official papers and confirmation that everything is working properly. The first aircraft could land at the end of the month.
Almost a decade and a half after the groundbreaking ceremony for the new BER airport, there is now the last official stamp required for the opening. The joint Upper Aviation Authority Berlin-Brandenburg allowed operations to begin and handed over the operator's certificate, as announced by the Brandenburg Ministry of Transport and the airport company. Both documents are necessary in order to operate a commercial airport in Germany.
The authority has put BER through its paces and has now set the last important milestone, noted Minister Guido Beermann. Airport boss Engelbert Lütke Daldrup said: "From a human perspective, there is nothing to prevent BER opening on October 31, 2020." It was possible to prove "that the entire airport facility and the installed equipment meet the requirements and function properly". This means that the operating company now has "the last necessary notices that we have an airport that is ready for operation in accordance with all rules and regulations".
According to the operator, BER commissioning will begin on October 31, 2020 with the opening of Terminal 1. On this day, a plane from the British airline Easyjet and a plane from Lufthansa will arrive at the same time. On the morning of November 4th, the southern runway is due to go into operation with the landing of a Qatar Airways aircraft. From this day, according to FBB, the new BER night flight restrictions will also apply. The move from Berlin Tegel Airport to BER ends with the last Air France flight from Berlin-Tegel to Paris on November 8, 2020.
The new airport on the Berlin city limits in Schönefeld in Brandenburg was supposed to go into operation nine years ago. However, the opening was repeatedly postponed due to bad planning, construction defects and technical problems.
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