Long waits at airport security have been a common traveller complaint in recent months. This has been a particular problem in busy European airports where chaotic queues have stretched into the hours at times, causing many to miss their flights.

If you’re flying in Business or First Class, or have elite status with a frequent flyer program, you may be able to access priority security lanes which can save a lot of time. For example, Qantas offers priority security lines (or in the case of Brisbane, a premium lounge entry) at some major domestic Australian airports. Virgin Australia also recently reinstated priority lanes for frequent flyers and Business Class passengers in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Some European airports, such as London Gatwick, will even let anyone access the premium security line for a fee.

But one European airport has recently introduced a unique concept that is free, available to all passengers and could potentially save a lot of time.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), which opened in 2020 after many years of delays, now offers a complimentary service called “BER Runway”. This service allows passengers to pre-book a specific time to clear security at a dedicated entrance in Terminal 1 which is only available to people with BER Runway bookings.

Bookings are free of charge and can be made any time from 3 days until 2 hours before the flight’s scheduled departure time. This service is operated by CLEAR, which offers security fast-track subscriptions to customers in the United States.

Time slots are available to clear security up to 1 hour prior to departure for Schengen flights, and 90 minutes for international non-Schengen flights. Passengers may enter the queue up to 10 minutes before or after the booked time and require only their boarding pass and BER Runway QR code. Bookings can be made on the BER Runway website.

If you arrive early or late, it’s still possible to use any other general security line.

As well as offering a convenient service to passengers, this system helps the airport to spread out the flow of passengers through the security checkpoints by limiting the number of spots available to book for each time slot. The airport estimates that passengers using this service would need to wait no more than 5-10 minutes for security.

It’s an interesting concept. Who knows – if this is successful, perhaps it could be rolled out at even more airports?

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.