Berlin was ‘the cradle of German aviation’ and it will soon be home to the country’s newest airport
Aviation has a long history in Berlin and the city is actually the original home of flag carrier Lufthansa, but Berlin’s airport system has been the talking point of the world due to the delayed opening of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. While Berlin is not among Lufthansa’s hubs, it remains a major destination for travellers and is now on track to bring the Brandenburg project to fruition in Oct-2020. Patrick Muller, was appointed head of operations at Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Jun-2018 and provides an update on developments, reinforcing that Oct-2020 opening date.
Transcript
Patrick Muller:What is the plan for the opening of BER? I believe it's pretty straightforward. October 2020 is the date when the new airport in Berlin, BER, and the new terminal will open. Everybody is committed to that date. We now have a good grip on what's going on on the site construction-wise. We have a plan to finalize all the testing and commissioning until mid of next year, which is the time when we will interact with our authorities and get the permission to use the airport and then start our ORAT program with trials towards the start of 2020 in order to open the airport in October 2020. And we can really feel that now the team is believing into that date. We have a new We have a new CEO who you met earlier today, who has a grip on the construction, and he's a politician. He has the political contacts in order to help us through that process, and all of this put together helps us to really believe in that new date that we set for a final attempt to open the airport. Well, I believe first of all we have a situation here where where we have 2 airports that are between 25 and 50 years old, and we have a brand new airport that will allow us to offer a completely different customer experience. That's point number one. Number 2, we are in the process of implementing new technology and the latest technology together with our airline partners in order to make a difference and to make the new BER the airport of choice for our customers and our clients. So we're all— the idea is for all of us to work with our airline partners to make it our new home, to make it the place of choice for Berlin, and to get away from the old infrastructure to provide a new, reliable, and enjoyable customer experience.
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