FLUG REVUE May 2006: Green light for new Berlin airport

May 2006

BERLIN-BRANDENBURG AIRPORT APPROVED BY COURT

By Volker K. Thomalla

On 16 March the Federal Administration Court in Leipzig as the court of last instance finally signalled the green light allowing construction of the new Berlin-Brandenburg International (BBI) airport in the capital city to go ahead. The court rejected the appeals brought by local residents against the formal public planning decision of the government of the state of Brandenburg. This brings to an end a long drawn out planning process, the origins of which date back to shortly after the reunification of Germany. Responsibility for the late start to construction work on the approx. 2 billion Euro project does not lie solely with the plaintiffs, however, as the failed privatisation efforts at the start of the project cost a lot of time which cannot be made up.

As the preparations have been largely completed, the airport operator will be able to start work on building the new airport right away. With two runways and terminals capable of handling a capacity of 22 million passengers per year BBI will open for business on 30 October 2011, according to the latest plans. It is likely to be the last new international commercial airport to be built in Germany over the coming decades.

The delays should not be viewed as having had a wholly negative impact: had the airport been built ten years ago as a hub, it would have had to be virtually written off today as a misdirected investment. The European hubs are settled. In Germany there is no room left for a third hub after Frankfurt and Munich. Berlin will not become a hub, it is too late for that. But as an airport for source and destination traffic, BBI's prospects are good, as suggested not least by the high growth rates that the no-frills airlines have achieved in Berlin. The terminals can now be modified accordingly.

However, the airport operators must first digest an unexpected blow: the Leipzig judges have imposed a far-reaching ban on night-time flying on the new capital city airport, according to which take-offs and landings will be prohibited between midnight and 5am. This means that the airport operating company will be forced to abandon all ambitions of succeeding as a cargo airport. Cargo flies at night. So does air mail, which will now no doubt have to be transported by road from Berlin to Leipzig, where a major cargo hub is becoming established.

The ban on night-time flights will also have an impact on the possible extension of hangar capacity: if aircraft are not allowed to fly to the hangar late in the evening after completing their daily circuits, BBI will lose its attractions as a hangar location for the maintenance of commercial aircraft.

The Leipzig judges were right to decide in favour of the former Schönefeld airport, but the ban on night-time operations will limit the development possibilities of Berlin Brandenburg International airport in a manner that was not anticipated.

From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 5/2006

Last updated 10 April 2006

FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany