The BER debacle continues

[AIRwin]

Letzte Flüge ab Tegel – mit Eurowings am 7.11.2020 – AirEvents

 

[Berlin]

Letzte Flüge ab Tegel – mit Eurowings am 7.11.2020 – AirEvents

Let's see- we've been there before and so far the "new" airport hasn't proven itself.

I would be SOOOO not surprised in the slightest if after a few weeks of operation, a cable shaft at BER falls from the ceiling and kills several people or an escalator suddenly starts eating passengers and, woops, Tegel is suddenly re-opened again for yet another 5 years

 

[flyingfan]

Guess what?

The 31 October 2020 opening date for BER has been cancelled due to coronavirus! (Apparently some of the construction/auditing staff caught it, so they've had to leave the building site.)

'We were a laughing stock': Berlin airport finally finished as Covid bites

Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport, €4bn over budget and nine years late, now has virus to contend with

www.theguardian.com

I haven't checked to see if this article saying that Oct 31 is going ahead can be corroborated, but what bad luck for BER to finally be open in these times...

 

[Berlin]

I haven't checked to see if this article saying that Oct 31 is going ahead can be corroborated, but what bad luck for BER to finally be open in these times...

Pretty lame article, date hasn't been changed (yet) so all it's talking about is the fact that the new airport will have to struggle with low passenger numbers due to the Covid crisis (like pretty much any other airport around the world apart, ironically, in China from where the Virus has originated from).

Reads to me as if the Brits are having one last hard laugh of Schadenfreude at the Germans before the tables will be turned very quickly once Brexit finally hits properly

 

[OZDUCK]

Well it has finally happened, the first plane has officially landed at BER airport.

Berlin’s new airport welcomes its first passengers – nine years late

The first touchdown at BER was an easyJet aircraft, just ahead of Lufthansa

www.independent.co.uk

 

[moa999]

It's strange that not much has leaked about lounges on open.

 

[daft009]

Quote from someone i know who has lived in Berlin all his life.....

The timing for the opening of the BER is perfect. Under corona conditions the airport is now in the right size. Under normal conditions it would be already too small

 

[moa999]

On the lounges

Berlin Brandenburg Airport lounges: Lufthansa, maybe Oneworld too?

Airlines will being moving into Berlin's Brandenburg Airport from October 31, so what's in store for the loungescape?

www.executivetraveller.com

 

[Mattg]

@JessicaTam and I gave the BER board game a try while she was in Canberra last weekend. It was quite fun, although ideally you would have 3-5 players if you were going to play strategically.

The basic premise is that you have to work together to build 8 sections of the airport - the 2 runways, 3 terminal buildings, the apron, the carpark and the fire department. The goal is to spend as much taxpayer money in doing so. The game ends once all buildings have been constructed and the winner is the person who spent the most money.

Along the way you pick up "ErgebnisLos" cards (literal translation is "resultless" or "unsuccessful") and "VerantwortungsLos" cards (which translates to "no responsibility") which instruct you to spend money, steal chips, etc. These cards tell all sorts of true stories about things that were stuffed up during the airport's construction.

For example - "You cannot find certain rooms of the airport. That's because they don't exist. Spend €20 million to employ a search party to look for them anyway."

And then there's "the boss has fired the technical lead, so the over-boss fired both the boss and their new technical lead. Employ a new boss and re-employ the old technical lead. Pay €100 million in legal costs and severance payments and collect a chip from another player."



In the end we managed to build the airport in around an hour, and @JessicaTam was the winner as she outspent me by around €400 million in taxpayer money!

 

[JessicaTam]

But wait, there's more:

Disgusting: Berlin BER Airport Water Supply Is Contaminated With E. Coli Bacteria

Drinking water supply at Berlin International Airport contaminated with fecal bacteria.

loyaltylobby.com

"Don't drink the water!"

 

[daft009]

Hopefully get to fly in or out of BER in April.
Train from Frankfurt would probably be easier in both directions but then I would miss out on BER!

 

[serfty]

Saw today that bankruptcy is possible, and soon.

Berlin Airport About To Go Bankrupt, Finds Water Is Undrinkable - View from the Wing

The Berlin airport still has huge problems. First of all the airport is on the brink of bankruptcy and expects to run out of money at the start of next year. Wherever the money has gone, it clearly hasn’t been invested in clean water, which brings us to the second recent problem: the water...

viewfromthewing.com

 

[OATEK]

The saga goes on! I had a hangover from Covid disruptions that was a rebooked flight with LH that was scheduled for next month. Happily one leg of the flight was cancelled, and I finally get my money back. As a bonus it seems I was saved from from the BER experience!

 

[Berlin]

Hopefully get to fly in or out of BER in April.
Train from Frankfurt would probably be easier in both directions but then I would miss out on BER!

Nah- you can't miss out of that. As a former Berliner, I still haven't been and it's right on top of my list for Europe next (Northern) autumn. It'll be so much fun to see but I'll bring my own water, just in case

 

[daft009]

Nah- you can't miss out of that. As a former Berliner, I still haven't been and it's right on top of my list for Europe next (Northern) autumn. It'll be so much fun to see but I'll bring my own water, just in case

Yeah I am a huge fan of Berlin as a city too.
Flew into and out of Tegel once and even tempelhof which was a joy flight

 

[Berlin]

Yeah I am a huge fan of Berlin as a city too.
Flew into and out of Tegel once and even tempelhof which was a joy flight

Oh Tempelhof, don't get me going, what an easy and awesomely located little airport with a huge history that was.

I actually always liked Tegel and wished they had kept it open. So easy in and out and much better to reach from the city than the new one. But well, it was a long time coming!

 

[AIRwin]

BER Bailout Before Bankruptcy:

EU backs 1.7 billion euros in state aid for Berlin airport

The European Commission has given the green light for state aid of 1.7 billion euros ($1.91 billion) planned for Berlin's airport to help ensure it does not go bankrupt, the Commission said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com

 

[RooFlyer]

BER Bailout Before Bankruptcy:

EU backs 1.7 billion euros in state aid for Berlin airport

The European Commission has given the green light for state aid of 1.7 billion euros ($1.91 billion) planned for Berlin's airport to help ensure it does not go bankrupt, the Commission said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com

Thanks. I see the airport CEO said

“The decision is very important and trend-setting for us,” Berlin Airport Chief Executive Aletta von Massenbach told Reuters in an interview.

I bet he’d like It to be ‘trendsetting”

 

[JessicaTam]

I am in EU in a few months. I might have to transit BER before the creditors march in! *sigh*

 

[Mattg]

I am in EU in a few months. I might have to transit BER before the creditors march in! *sigh*

I'm thinking the same!