Few passengers at BER Airport – Schönefeld Terminal before closing

Berlin (Reuters) – Shortly after the opening, BER Airport is looking into the temporary closure of Terminal 5.

There are plans to close the old Schönefeld Airport (BER Terminal 5) from the summer flight schedule in March, said a spokesman for the capital’s airport operator on Monday, confirming reports from various Berlin media. This could apply for a year, the exact period depends on the development of air traffic. The number of passengers is currently only around ten percent of the previous year. Airport boss Engelbert Lütke Daldrup wants to present the plans to the supervisory board on Friday. According to the spokesman, the committee does not have to agree to this.

Because of the Corona crisis and the massive passenger failure, the capital’s airport will still need financial support from the owners Berlin, Brandenburg and the federal government for years. For 2020, the shareholders are already helping out with 300 million euros, through grants and loans.

For the next year, the operating company FBB expects a financial requirement of up to 660 million euros, as can be seen from documents for the budget committee of the Bundestag that Reuters presented at the weekend. According to its 26 percent stake, the federal government will take over 171.6 million euros. The disbursements should go “as needed” over the stage. “In order to avoid a subsequent budgeting of further funds in view of the volatile development of air traffic, the financial requirements according to the bad case scenario (30 percent passengers compared to 2019) are used as a basis.”

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