Berlin Brandenburg Airport’s terminal certified for opening - at last

The last CAPA report into Berlin Brandenburg Airport (Dec-2019) declared that it was finally set to open in Oct-2020 and asked: "What can go wrong now?" Well, now we know.

The story of Brandenburg's financing and construction, and the huge problems it encountered with its electrical wiring and fire control systems, is a long one, and has been chronicled many times by CAPA. In Dec-2019 it was reported that there were concerns that the new airport might even be demolished and rebuilt on account of the technical issues it had faced.

Terminal 1 has now been certified to handle passenger operations upon commissioning of the airport on 31-Oct-2020. FBB can now start preparations for operational readiness and airport transfer (ORAT) activities at the terminal. At the same time, final interior renovations for retail concessions will be carried out in the coming months.

The opening date is 'reconfirmed' with the news that the terminal building, which once had thousands of faults, has been cleared to handle passengers, but the new challenge will be to convince airlines to return and carry on where it all left off.