New Berlin airport continues to fuel debate.

Work on the new Berlin Brandenburg International (BBI) airport has only just begun after 14 years of controversy, legal battles and political in-fighting, and complaints about the 2 billion project are already making headlines. British budget airline Easyjet, which currently flies out of Schnefeld airport, the site of the future BBI, has protested that the new airport ignores the needs of low-cost carriers, with passengers having to walk longer distances to catch their flights, adding to aircraft turnaround time and pushing ticket prices up. Doubts have also been voiced about whether the new airport will be able to attract long-haul operators away from the Frankfurt international hub. Meanwhile, a fierce debate is raging over the fate of the historic Templehof city airport, one of the three Berlin airports to be supplanted by the BBI. Berliners, including the chancellor Angela Merkel, are campaigning for a new lease of life for the Templehof, which is due to close by October next year.