Berlin’s Brandenburg airport opening still not confirmed

Confirmation of 17 March 2013 as the opening for Berlin’s new Brandenburg airport will only be confirmed mid September, according to a press release from the airport’s supervisory board.

At present the board is still trying to assess the amount of work that needs to be completed.

In its latest press release Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH said that it was making headway with noise environmental protection systems for the surrounding residential areas. However it is still compiling progress and implementation reports on other areas of the airport with internal and external construction companies.

A date in early June 2012 for the inauguration of the airport, which will be named after the post-war West German chancellor Willy Brandt, had to be put off only weeks before the official opening because of difficulties with the fire safety systems.

The airport, which is being financed by the state of Brandenburg, Berlin and the federal government, will replace Tegel when it becomes operational.

It is vital for the future of Air Berlin, the loss-making budget airline, which is planning to use it as its hub for international operations. The German national carrier, Lufthansa, is also planning more flights from Berlin once the new airport is open.

The airport, which will now cost more than the €2.5 billion initially budgeted, will eventually attract 27 million passengers a year.