Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport

Berlin Brandenburg Airport is a new international airport under construction 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) south of central Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, the capital city of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is scheduled to open on 3 June 2012. The airport is located in Schönefeld

Schönefeld

-Places in Germany:*Schönefeld, a municipality of Brandenburg near Berlin*Leipzig-Schönefeld, a quarter of Leipzig, Saxony*Schönefeld , a village in the town Beelitz, Brandenburg...

on the border between the states

States of Germany

Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...

of Berlin and Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

and will be named after the former German Chancellor and Nobel Peace Laureate Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....

. Construction costs are estimated at 2.5 billion euros.

The new airport will replace three airports in Berlin. Tempelhof Airport closed in 2008, Tegel Airport is scheduled to close in 2012. The terminal infrastructure of the existing Berlin Schönefeld Airport will be closed in 2012 while some of the airport's infrastructure will be incorporated into the greatly expanded airport area to the south. The newly built BER airport will inherit the current southern, then northern runway. Due to noise-abatement regulations, flights between midnight and 5:00 a.m. will remain banned.

The Berlin Brandenburg Airport will be a hub

Airline hub

An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...

for Air Berlin

Air Berlin

Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG is Germany's second largest airline, after Lufthansa, and Europe's sixth largest airline in terms of passengers....

, Germania

Germania (airline)

Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH, operating as Germania, is an airline with its headquarters in Berlin, Germany. It operates scheduled and chartered flights and aircraft lease services...

, Easyjet

EasyJet

EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...

, Germanwings

Germanwings

Germanwings GmbH is a low-cost airline based in Cologne, Germany, and is wholly owned by Lufthansa. Cologne Bonn Airport, Stuttgart Airport and Berlin-Schönefeld Airport are the important hubs in the airline's network of approximately 70 destinations...

and will serve as a focus city

Focus city

In the airline industry, a focus city is a location that is not a hub, but from which the airline has non-stop flights to several destinations other than its hubs...

for Lufthansa

Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...

. The initial capacity of the airport is designed to serve 30–50 million passengers. The two main operators, Air Berlin and Lufthansa, each will handle around 30% of the scheduled commercial flights. Projections indicate the new airport will be the third busiest airport in Germany and thirteenth busiest in Europe in 2012. A major railway station built under the airport's check-in terminal will provide several connections within the region and will establish a direct link to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily...

Foundations

Berlin-Schönefeld airport was opened on 15 October 1934 to accommodate the Henschel

Henschel & Son

Henschel & Son was a German company, situated in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons....

aircraft plant. By the end of the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, over 14,000 aircraft had been built. On 22 April 1945, the airport was occupied by Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

troops, and the aircraft construction facilities were either dismantled or blown up. By late 1947, the airport rail link

Airport rail link

An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city; by mainline- or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover or light rail...

had been repaired and agricultural machinery was built and repaired on the site. In 1946, the Soviet Air Forces moved from Johannisthal Air Field

Johannisthal Air Field

The Johannisthal Air Field, located 15 km southeast of Berlin, between Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany's first airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first airfield at Rheims, France .-Overview:...

to Schönefeld, including the civilian airline Aeroflot

Aeroflot

OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...

. In 1947, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany

Soviet Military Administration in Germany

The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone of Germany from the German surrender in May 1945 until after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in October...

approved the construction of a civilian airport at the site. Between 1947 and 1990, Schönefeld airport was renamed on several occasions and stayed the main airport of the German Democratic Republic

German Democratic Republic

The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...

(GDR) (Zentralflughafen) until its demise

Die Wende

marks the complete process of the change from socialism and planned economy to market economy and capitalism in East Germany around the years 1989 and 1990. It encompasses several processes and events which later have become synonymous with the overall process...

One stipulation of the Four Power Agreement

Four Power Agreement on Berlin

The Four Power Agreement on Berlin also known as the Berlin Agreement or the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin was agreed on 3 September 1971 by the four wartime allied powers, represented by their Ambassadors...

following World War II was a total ban on German carriers' participation in air transport to Berlin, where access was restricted to US, British, French and Soviet airliners. Located outside of the Berlin city limits

Greater Berlin Act

The Greater Berlin Act , in full the Law Regarding the Reconstruction of the New Local Authority of Berlin , was a law passed by the Prussian government in 1920 that greatly expanded the size of the German capital of Berlin.-History:...

, this restriction did not apply to Schönefeld airport. Thus, German aircraft of the East German flag carrier Interflug

Interflug

Interflug was the state airline of East Germany from 1963 to 1991, when it ceased operations following German reunification...

could use Schönefeld airport, while West German Lufthansa

Lufthansa

was denied access to Berlin-Tegel and Tempelhof airports.

Following the German reunification

German reunification

German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...

in 1990, operating three separate airports became increasingly inefficient, leading the Berlin City Parliament

Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin

The Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin is the state parliament for the German state of Berlin, according to the state's constitution. The parliament is based at the building on Niederkirchnerstraße in Mitte which until 1934 was the seat of the lower house of the Preußischer Landtag...

to pursue a single airport of dimension and standards with the now reunified German capital whilst decrease the number of inhabitants impacted by aircraft noise

Aircraft noise

Aircraft noise is noise pollution produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight: on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths,...

within the city. Therefore, it was decided to erect Berlin Brandenburg Airport at the site of Schönefeld Airport, which is scheduled to assume service on 3 June 2012. The new airport will only inherit one runway from the existing one. Most of the old airport, including the terminal

Airport terminal

An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....

and apron

Airport ramp

The airport ramp or apron is part of an airport. It is usually the area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled or boarded. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the runway or taxiway...

areas (the northern areas), will give way to the representative terminal of the German Federal Government.

Planning BER

The primary reason for the construction of a new airport is to increase the airport capacity for the Berlin-Brandenburg region as two of the three existing airports are operating well beyond their maximum planned capacity. The decision for the Schönefeld site was made on 13 August 2004. It calls for an expansion of the existing Schönefeld airport into a single airport that will replace the three existing airports in and around Berlin. Indeed the 2008 closure of “Tempelhof International Airport” and 2012 closure of “Berlin-Tegel International Airport” were set as a prerequisite for opening BER to traffic.

In 2007, a total of 20 million passengers have used the three existing airports. The most congested airport is Tegel, which has a planned capacity for 9.5 million, but handled over 13 million passengers in 2007. The first phase of BER is scheduled to open in late 2011 and will have an initial capacity for up to 30 million passengers. Additional terminals have already been incorporated into the plans and the final capacity after completion of all juridically warranted expansions is given as 50 million passenger per year.

Construction

After a ten-year administrative court struggle, the federal administrative court in Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

gave the go-ahead for the project on 16 March 2006 by ruling in favour of Berlin and against challenges by residents and municipalities near the future airport.

Construction work began on 5 September 2006. The initial projects were the access roads for the construction site and the extension of the future northern runway (the only physical feature BER will share with the existing Schönefeld airport). In 2007, work started on the railway tunnel that will run underneath the airfield and the Bundesautobahn 113

Bundesautobahn 113

is a motorway in Germany. The motorway connects Neukölln to Schönefeld . Its latest part was released on 23 May 2008....

(A 113), connecting the new terminal to the motorway

German Autobahnen

The German autobahns are the nationally coordinated motorway system in Germany. In German, they are officially called Bundesautobahn , which translates as federal expressways...

network, was completed. The construction work for the new terminal

Airport terminal

An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....

began in 2008 and by 2011, the airport fire brigade moved into its newly built facilities. The new airport was scheduled to open for traffic in late October 2011, which was subsequently postponed by 7 months to 3 June 2012. In 2004–2005, the inhabitants of the village of Diepensee (population 335) and parts of Selchow (35 residents) were resettled to either Königs Wusterhausen

Königs Wusterhausen

Königs Wusterhausen is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany.-Geographical location:Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" as it is often called locally – lies on the Notte Canal and the river Dahme southeast of Berlin...

or Großziethen, since the areas were to become part of the future airport.

Both the expansion of the airport into BER as well as the quality of the connection to the railway network are subject of public debate. The Bürgerverein Brandenburg-Berlin e.V. represents local residents who protest against an expansion of air traffic to and from the south of Berlin. Also, experts for traffic and environmental issues criticize the late completion dates for the fast connection to the central station. Still, Berlin Hauptbahnhof will be connected within 30 minutes with trains departing every 15 minutes upon inauguration. By 2020 at the latest, this will be reduced to 20 minutes thanks to the reconstruction of the Dresdner bahn.

Naming

From the opening in 2012 onwards, the Berlin Brandenburg Airport will use the letters BER, the current Metropolitan Area Code for the two Berlin airports, as its IATA code. It will also use the letters EDDB, the current code for Berlin Schönefeld Airport, as its ICAO code

International Civil Aviation Organization airport code

The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic...

.

On 11 December 2009, the social-democratic city government of Berlin announced that Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport would receive the secondary name "Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt

", after the former West German chancellor, mayor of West Berlin, and Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...

laureate.

Opposition parties in the Berlin city council opposed the decision, the conservative Christian Democratic Union

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

preferring Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg

Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg commonly referred to as Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer and Catholic aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from...

, Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

, or Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...

and the liberal Free Democratic Party

Free Democratic Party (Germany)

The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...

preferring liberal politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Gustav Stresemann

Gustav Stresemann

was a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor and Foreign Minister during the Weimar Republic. He was co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926.Stresemann's politics defy easy categorization...

.

City government spokesman Günter Kolodziej announced the airport's primary name would retain the name "Berlin" for sake of travelers from abroad.

Infrastructure

During the construction of the new airport, some 3400000 tonnes (3,346,292 LT) of concrete will be used and 14 km (8.7 mi) of temporary access roads, nineteen new road bridges as well as a network of approximately 20 km (12.4 mi) of permanent roads will be built.

With the beginning of construction work in October 2006, an information and exhibition centre called Airportworld BER was opened between the S-Bahn stop Berlin-Schönefeld Flughafen and Schönefeld airport.

Since November 2007, there also is the BER-Infotower, which is situated in the central part of the construction site for the new terminal complex. From the top of the tower it is possible to get an overview of the entire construction site. The transparent and twisted tower, intended as a temporary construction, will remain after work is completed, greeting arrivals from the autobahn.

Runways

In December 2007, the old northern runway of Schönefeld airport was closed and dismantled to enable the construction of the final 650 m (2,132.5 ft) of the A 113. Hence, Schönefeld airport will be operating with a single runway until the opening of BER in 2012.

In late 2007, the southern, asphalt runway (07R/25L) of Schönefeld airport was extended from 3000 metre. This runway will serve as the northern runway for BER. An additional, concrete runway with a length of 4000 m (13,123.4 ft) and a width of 60 m (196.9 ft) was constructed to the south of the new terminal.

With a distance of 1900 m (6,233.6 ft) between the parallel runways, these are enabled to operate independently and without wake turbulence interferences.

Terminal

The terminal building will be situated between the two runways, creating a midfield airport. The main pier is 750 m (2,460.6 ft) long, the two piers to the north and the south are 350 m (1,148.3 ft) each. The terminal will have an initial capacity of up to 30 million passengers, with the option of expanding the capacity through the construction of two additional satellite terminals parallel to the initial building. With all additions, the final capacity will be of 50 million passengers.

In the first phase, the terminal will have 25 jet bridges. The southern pier will be reserved exclusively for Air Berlin, while the northern pier features minimalistic design with "walk-boarding-gates"/airstair

Airstair

An airstair is a passenger staircase that is built in to an airliner — often, though not always, on the inside of a clamshell-style door. The stairs can be raised or lowered while the aircraft is on the ground, allowing passengers and ground personnel to board or depart the aircraft without the...

s instead of jet bridges to cater to the high demand from no-frills Low-cost airline

Low-cost carrier

A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...

s. The new terminal building will also feature gates able to handle the Airbus A380

Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...

.

The first module of the midfield cargo facilities will have a capacity of 60000 tonnes (59,052.2 LT) of cargo per year. With the completion of all planned expansions, this can be expanded to handle up to 600000 tonnes (590,522.1 LT) per year.

The terminal will include an underground railway station.

Government terminal

The German Federal Government is relocating its VIP jets (“Flugbereitschaft”) currently stationed in Cologne Bonn Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport

Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...

to Berlin, creating a military part to the north of the northern runway. This will eliminate the need to fly the two Airbus A340

Airbus A340

The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...

, six Airbus A310

Airbus A310

The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...

, two Airbus A319CJ and four Bombardier Global 5000 to Berlin each time they are to collect officials in the capital.

To this end, a representative, wood-and-glass terminal is being built in a birch tree grove for at least 310 million Euros. It will be situated next to the current SXF terminal, and will also be used for state visits. With completion postponed until 2014, the current SXF terminal will be used as an interim solution.

Business park

The area surrounding BER is zoned as a commercial district. Plans call for the construction of shopping centers and parking structures as well as industrial, commercial and office spaces.

Situated directly at the terminal complex will be the BER Airport City with an area of 16 ha (39.5 acre). Marketing of the real estate has begun in autumn 2006 and beginning in 2009 offices, hotels, car rentals, four parking decks with a capacity of 10,000, restaurants and retailers are built here.

To the north is the BER Business Park Berlin with a planned area of 109 ha (269.3 acre) for industrial and commercial use as well as congress centers.

A further Business Park North was planned as a future use of the area of the old Schönefeld terminal. However, so far there are no definite plans for the future use of this area.

ILA Berlin Air Show

The ILA Berlin Air Show is one of the world's largest international aerospace exhibitions and trade fairs, held biennially on the southern section of Berlin

Berlin

-Schönefeld Airport since 1992.

In 2012 it will be held at the new Berlin ExpoCenter Airport

Berlin ExpoCenter Airport

The Berlin ExpoCenter Airport, a multi-purpose exhibition ground, belongs to the Messe Berlin and is located in the southeast of Berlin, near the suburban municipality Schönefeld...

built specifically to this end in the southwestern section of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport for the first time.

The ILA is organised jointly by the association representing the German aerospace industry, Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft- und Raumfahrtindustrie (BDLI) e.V., Berlin, and by the Messe Berlin

Messe Berlin

Messe Berlin fairgrounds are situated in Berlin-Westend, precinct Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, at Masurenallee opposite of the Haus des Rundfunks....

GmbH.

The ILA’s main display sections include commercial aviation, aerospace, military aviation and military technology, equipment and engines, general aviation and helicopters.

Airlines and destinations

Air Berlin, the second largest airline in Germany, will use the Berlin Brandenburg airport as its main intercontinental hub, occupying most of Pier C along with onewworld partners. Air Berlin handles most flights in Berlin, with a share of over 30 percent as of 2011. Air Berlin is set to join the global airline alliance

Airline alliance

An airline alliance is an agreement between two or more airlines to cooperate on a substantial level. The three largest passenger alliances are the Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld. Alliances also form between cargo airlines, such as that of WOW Alliance, SkyTeam Cargo and ANA/UPS Alliance...

Oneworld

Oneworld , branded as oneworld, is one of the world's three largest global airline alliances with its central management team, oneworld Management Company, based in New York City, New York, USA. Oneworld was founded in 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific...

at the start of 2012. Lufthansa is also set to expand its operations in Berlin, its biggest single expansion at any airport to date. The destinations offered will jump from 8 to 38 by Lufthansa alone, 49 if subsidiaries are counted.

Air Berlin laid the foundations for the first maintenance hangar at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on 21 March 2011, doubling the maintenance capacity of Air Berlin Technik at its future Berlin site. Lufthansa Technik

Lufthansa Technik

Lufthansa Technik AG is the leading manufacturer-independent provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul services for aircraft, engines and components. The Lufthansa Technik Group consists of 32 companies with more than 25.500 employees...

is also building a 16 million Euro hangar.

In summer 2011, 88 airlines serve 164 destinations in 54 countries from Berlin airports (TXL and SXF). 28 connections are non-European, 13 destinations are intercontinentally served. Among the longhaul flights are connections to New York City, Bejing, Doha, Bangkok, Phuket, Dubai, Miami, Mombasa, Punta Cana, Varadero and Ulan Bator. These services will be moved to the new airport.

All services will begin 3 June 2012 unless otherwise stated.

The airport terminal has three piers: Pier A, equipped with walk and bus boarding gates, is designated for low-cost carriers. Piers B and C have airbridges as well as remote bus boarding aircraft stands. Pier C will be used by Air Berlin and other oneworld airlines.

Cargo airlines

Busiest routes

Combined total passengers at TXL and SXF in 2010

Destination	Airport(s)	Passengers
Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...	MUC	1,816,693
Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...	FRA Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in GermanyFrankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...	1,610,372
Cologne Cologne Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...	CGN Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...	1,379,294
London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	LGW, LHR London Heathrow Airport London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe... , LTN London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway... , STN London Stansted Airport -Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...	1,281,842
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....	STR Stuttgart Airport Stuttgart Airport is an international airport located approximately south of Stuttgart, Germany....	985,857
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...	DUS Düsseldorf International Airport Düsseldorf International Airport is the largest airport in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the third largest airport in Germany, handling 18.99 million passengers in 2010....	930,865
Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...	CDG, ORY	884,195
Zurich Zürich Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...	ZRH	802,464
Palma de Mallorca Palma de Mallorca Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...	PMI Palma de Mallorca Airport Palma de Mallorca Airport is an airport located east of Palma, Majorca, adjacent to the village of Can Pastilla. Also known as Son Sant Joan Airport or Aeroport de Son Sant Joan, it is the third largest airport in Spain, after Madrid's Barajas Airport and Barcelona Airport...	584,709
Vienna Vienna Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...	VIE Vienna International Airport Vienna International Airport , located in Schwechat and southeast of central Vienna, is the busiest and biggest airport in Austria. It is often referred to as Schwechat, the name of the county it is in. The airport is capable of handling wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A340...	554,663
Antalya Antalya Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...	AYT Antalya Airport Antalya Airport is northeast of the city center of Antalya, Turkey. The airport is operated in Turkey's primary holiday destination located on the country's Mediterranean coast. The airport is big and modern, built to accommodate the millions of passengers who come to Turkey's Mediterranean...	435,545
Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...	AMS	432,187
Moscow Moscow Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...	DME Domodedovo International Airport Moscow Domodedovo Airport or Domodedovo International Airport is an international airport located in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, south-southeast of the centre of Moscow... , SVO Sheremetyevo International Airport Sheremetyevo International Airport , is an international airport located in the Moscow Oblast, Russia, north-west of central Moscow. It is a hub for the passenger operations of the Russian international airline Aeroflot, and one of the three major airports serving Moscow along with Domodedovo... , VKO Vnukovo International Airport Vnukovo International Airport , is a dual runway international airport located southwest from the centre of Moscow, Russia. It is one of three major airports serving Moscow...	431,007
Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...	IST Atatürk International Airport Atatürk International Airport is the major international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Opened in 1924 and located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is west of the city centre. In 1980, the airport was renamed to Atatürk International Airport in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the... , SAW Sabiha Gökçen International Airport Sabiha Gökçen International Airport is one of the international airports serving İstanbul, Turkey. The facility is named after Sabiha Gökçen, the first female combat pilot in the world. Located southeast of central İstanbul, it is on the Asian side of the bi-continental city...	406,063
Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...	MAD	397,646

Statistics

The future Berlin Brandenburg Airport is publicly owned by the Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld GmbH, an airport company. The members of the company are the states of Berlin

Berlin

and Brandenburg

Brandenburg

equally holding 37% of the shares. The Federal Republic of Germany, the third member, holds 26% of the shares. The two managing directors are Prof. Dr. Rainer Schwarz and Dr. Manfred A. Körtgen. In 2011 the airport company operates the soon to be closed Tegel airport (TXL) and the Schönefeld airport (SXF).

Combined TXL & SXF – Airport and Traffic Data

align="center" colspan="8"|
Year	Revenue[€ Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... ]	Employees	Passengers	Change	Freight [t Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... ]	Change	Post [t Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... ]	Movements	Change
TXL/SXF 2010	506,360,038	1,468	22,323,511	6.4%	36,675	25,2%	4,806	235,165	1.5%

Location

The Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is located in Schönefeld

Schönefeld

-Places in Germany:*Schönefeld, a municipality of Brandenburg near Berlin*Leipzig-Schönefeld, a quarter of Leipzig, Saxony*Schönefeld , a village in the town Beelitz, Brandenburg...

, a town of 13,000 inhabitants in the German state of Brandenburg

Brandenburg

. It is situated 18 km (11.2 mi) southeast of Berlin

Berlin

's city center in northeastern Germany

Germany

and covers an area of 1.470 hektar.

The airport serves the German capital Berlin with its population of 3.5 million people, and the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region

Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region

The Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region is one of the 11 metropolitan regions of Germany...

with a total population of around 6 million inhabitants.

The airport is part of the Time zone CET (UTC+1) and, from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October, operates according to CEST (UTC+2). Located in the European Plain

European Plain

The European Plain or Great European Plain is a plain in Europe. It is the largest mountain-free landform in Europe, although a number of highlands are identified within. It stretches from the Pyrenees Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east.It consists of the...

s, the airport's region is influenced by a temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

seasonal climate experiencing hot dry summers and cold snowy winters.

Rail

The terminal will be connected to a 3.1 km (1.9 mi) long railway tunnel running from east to west underneath the apron

Airport ramp

and the terminal complex. As the nine tunnel sections are the first structures to be built, they can be constructed in the form of conventional excavations.

A railway station

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

with six tracks will be part of the tunnel. Two tracks will serve as a terminus for the S-Bahn

Berlin S-Bahn

The Berlin S-Bahn is a rapid transit system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It consists of 15 lines and is integrated with the mostly underground U-Bahn to form the backbone of Berlin's rapid transport system...

– with the S9 serving the north and the S45 serving the southern public transit ring, while the other four tracks will handle InterCity

InterCity

InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...

, Intercity-Express and Regional-Express trains.
It was confirmed in august 2011 that multiple daily Intercity-Express and InterCity

InterCity

InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...

will connect the airport to Bielefeld

Bielefeld

Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...

, Hannover, Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, Leipzig

Leipzig

, Halle

Halle

Halle is a noun that means hall in the German language. It may also refer to:-In Germany:* Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, official name Halle , also called Halle or Halle an der Saale...

, Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...

, as well as EuroCity

EuroCity

EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes an international train service within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains with the "IC" label, "EC" trains are international trains that meet certain criteria. The EuroCity label replaces the older Trans Europ Express name for...

trains connecting to Wroclaw

Wroclaw

Wrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...

and Krakow

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

and the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

.

About half of all passengers are estimated to access BER by rail. An express line (Regionalbahn

RegionalBahn

The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...

) will connect the airport with the Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

(Berlin central station) in 30 minutes. Two more stops, Potsdamer Platz and Berlin Südkreuz

Berlin Südkreuz

Berlin Südkreuz is a railway station in the German capital Berlin. The station was originally opened in 1898 and is an interchange station...

, will be part of the Airport Express. Over 10 % of passengers are expected from Poland, making BER one of the biggest airports for Poland and the official airport of the 2012 European Football Championship venues in western Poland.

The railway station will form the lowest level of the terminal complex and will be situated at a depth of 14.5 m (47.6 ft) under the surrounding ground level. A total of 33 km (20.5 mi) of track and 23 Railroad switch

Railroad switch

A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....

es will be laid.

Road

The Berlin Brandenburg Airport will be connected with its own exit to the outer freeway ring A10

Bundesautobahn 10

runs in Brandenburg and is an orbital motorway around Berlin and is therefore called the Berliner Ring. It should not be confused with the Berliner Stadtring ....

and to the city freeway A100

Bundesautobahn 100

is an Autobahn in Germany. The A 100 encloses the city centre of the German capital Berlin, running from the Wedding district of the Berlin-Mitte borough in a southwestern bow through Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Tempelhof-Schöneberg to Neukölln...

.

A 113

Bundesautobahn 113

is a motorway in Germany. The motorway connects Neukölln to Schönefeld . Its latest part was released on 23 May 2008....

, the southern Berlin freeway in the direction of Dresden will be relocated and expanded to six lanes. A continuation of A 113 along the Teltow canal forms the connection to the Berlin city freeway A 100. The highway 96a

Bundesstraße 96

The Bundesstraße 96 is a federal highway in Germany. It begins in Zittau in the Saxony, close to the border triangle between Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, heads north through Berlin and ends in Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea...

will be expanded to four lanes in the section towards Potsdam

Potsdam

Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....

.

Four car parks and a car rental centre will be installed by the time BER opens. Around 10,000 parking spaces will be available for arriving and departing passengers. Parking spaces are built as four multi-storey car parks, each with 2,200 spots.

Bus

Public transport connections at the new airport will include numerous bus services. The express buses X7 and X11 connect BER and U-Bahn Rudow, the underground line U7, every five minutes. The X11 bus continues to Lichterfelde-West and on to Dahlem. Other bus lines also stop off at a number of stations, providing connections with Berlin’s public transport network and destinations in Brandenburg.

Accidents and incidents

German Democratic Republic

/ SXF era

On 14 August 1972, an Ilyushin Il-62
Ilyushin Il-62
The Ilyushin Il-62 is a Soviet long-range jet airliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turbo-prop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers, the Il-62 was the largest jet airliner when it first flew in 1963. It entered Aeroflot service on 15 September 1967 with...

aircraft of Interflug (registration DM-SEA) enroute to Burgas Airport
Burgas Airport
Burgas International Airport , is the airport of Burgas , Bulgaria.In 2009, the airport handled 1,683,786 passengers. In 2010, it handled 1,872,618 passengers, a 11.2% increase compared to 2009.-Future plans and expansion:...

crashed shortly after take-off from Schönefeld Airport near Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany.-Geographical location:Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" as it is often called locally – lies on the Notte Canal and the river Dahme southeast of Berlin...

, killing all 156 passenger and crew on board. See Interflug Flight DM-SEA
Interflug Flight DM-SEA
The 1972 Königs Wusterhausen air disaster occurred on 14 August when an Interflug airplane crashed shortly after take-off from Berlin-Schönefeld Airport on a holiday charter flight to Burgas...

.
On 22 November 1977, a Tupolev Tu-134
Tupolev Tu-134
The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined airliner, similar to the American Douglas DC-9 and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle, and built in the Soviet Union from 1966–1984. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners , it can operate from unpaved...

aircraft of Interflug (registration DM-SCM) crashed upon landing at Schönefeld Airport due to a falsely configured autopilot
Autopilot
An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...

. There were no fatalities among the 74 passenger and crew, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On 19 August 1978, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 hijacking
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 hijacking was the hijacking of a LOT Polish Airlines that occurred on August 30, 1978. The hijackers from East Germany were seeking political asylum in West Germany...

, a LOT
LOT Polish Airlines
Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. , trading as LOT Polish Airlines, is the flag carrier of Poland. Based in Warsaw, LOT was established in 1929, making it one of the world's oldest airlines still in operation. Using a fleet of 55 aircraft, LOT operates a complex network to 60 destinations in Europe,...

flight from Gdansk Airport to Schönefeld (carried out on a Tupolev Tu-134, registration SP-LGC),was hijacked and forced to land at Tempelhof Airport in West Berlin, thus having been used as a means for escaping the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...

. In these cases, perpetrators were usually not charged by Western authorities.
On 12 December 1986, an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 (registration CCCP-65795) coming from Minsk Airport
Minsk International Airport
thumb|300pix|Minsk National Airport location within the limits of Kastrychnitski District of MinskMinsk National Airport , , former name is Minsk-2, is the main international airport in Belarus, located 42 km to the east of the capital Minsk, geographically lying in the territory of...

crashed in Berlin-Bohnsdorf
Bohnsdorf
Bohnsdorf is a district in the borough Treptow-Köpenick of Berlin, Germany. It is located in the south-east of the city.-Position:The locality is situated in the southeastern suburb of Berlin and borders with Altglienicke, Grünau, and with the municipality of Schönefeld, in the Brandenburg district...

on its approach towards Schönefeld airport, after having attempted to land on a runway that was temporary blocked for construction work, killing 72 of the 82 passengers and crew on board.
On 17 July 1989, an Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft of Interflug (registration DDR-SEW) bound for Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

crashed shortly after take-off into a field near the airport and caught fire. 21 people on board as well as one person on the ground were killed. The East German authorities feared an act of sabotage due to the anniversary of the 17 June 1953
Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany started with a strike by East Berlin construction workers on June 16. It turned into a widespread anti-Stalinist uprising against the German Democratic Republic government the next day....

, which lead to a delayed aid for injured people. West German rescuers offering help were denied access to the scene. The cause for the accident was later given as a jammed rudder due to a construction failure.

Federal Republic of Germany/ SXF era

On 28 March 2000, a Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737 Classic
The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...

of Germania
Germania (airline)
Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH, operating as Germania, is an airline with its headquarters in Berlin, Germany. It operates scheduled and chartered flights and aircraft lease services...

(registration D-AGES) operating a charter flight on behalf of LTU
LTU International
LTU Lufttransport-Unternehmen GmbH was an airline based in Düsseldorf, Germany, now fully owned by Air Berlin. The initials stand for the German phrase LuftTransport-Unternehmen . It operated scheduled services on medium and long-haul routes, as well as charter services...

from Tenerife South Airport
Tenerife South Airport
Tenerife South Airport , previously known as Tenerife South-Reina Sofia Airport, is one of two international airports located on the island of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands . Between its opening and the end of 2006, a total of 173,912,207 passengers passed through the airport...

to Berlin-Schönefeld was the subject of an attempted hijack in mid-flight. A passenger forced his way into the cockpit, where he attacked the pilot, leading to a sudden loss of altitude. The perpetrator was restrained and the flight continued to Berlin.
On 19 June 2010, a 1944-built, historic Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

D-CXXX of Berlin Air Services crashed
2010 Berlin Air Services DC-3 crash
On 19 June 2010, a vintage Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Berlin Schönefeld Airport to a sightseeing flight over Berlin, which was operated by ', a provider of event flights...

shortly after take off on a local sightseeing flight, causing 7 injuries but no fatalities.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Foundations

Planning BER

Construction

Naming

Infrastructure

Runways

Terminal

Government terminal

Business park

ILA Berlin Air Show

Airlines and destinations

Cargo airlines

Busiest routes

Statistics

Location

Rail

Road

Bus

Accidents and incidents

See also

External links