Why it took so long? An accumulation of blunders and scandals. One of the biggest blunders was discovered just before the first planned opening party in 2012: the fire installation was not working. In the event of a fire, the smoke would have to be vented through underground corridors, but that turned out not to work. The automatic doors did not open and the cables were wrong. Tens of thousands of kilometers of cable had to be moved and replaced. The installation was internally renamed ‘the monster’.
Because construction took so much longer than planned, some things had to be replaced before they were put into use. BER received the unflattering nickname ‘new-build ruin’ from Der Spiegel magazine. And even now, not everything at the airport is ‘contemporary’. For example, some operating systems still run on Windows XP, software that has not been supported for years and, for example, the information screens are far too small by today’s standards.
During the construction of BER, the plans were constantly adjusted. The airport had to become bigger and bigger to accommodate the ever-growing flow of tourists to Berlin. It was long feared that the airport would actually be too small when it opened. But then came corona. For 2020, the estimated number of passengers has been adjusted from 37 to 10 million. The German aviation association expects air traffic to return to its previous level in four years’ time.
Bankrupt for the first check-in
Lucky in an accident? Not really. Because passengers – and therefore income – are badly needed. The airport has an enormous debt. In all those years that there was no flying, the costs continued. The unused airport cost millions a month. If the state had not stepped in with hundreds of millions, they would have been bankrupt before even one passenger was checked in. Experts wonder whether BER will ever become profitable.
Despite the painful preliminary stage, the opening for the German capital is a memorable fact. And that would be the biggest celebration: a gala, 750 guests from home and abroad, fireworks. But that is also canceled. The opening party has been canceled due to corona.
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