Berlin's new airport to open in 2017

[Foreigner]

Unless cough-ups cause further delay:

Date set for long-delayed opening of new Berlin airport | Business | DW.DE | 12.12.2014

 

[Isochronous]

About bloody time!

 

[TomVexille]

Only 6 years late if they manage to actually get it open then

 

[Mattg]

I'm skeptical that it will even open then, but hopeful. It's a much nicer airport than Berlin's existing two!

I find the headline of the DW article somewhat misleading. It says "date set" but no actual date was given, just a six month period.

 

[Spongbob]

I find the location of TXL very convenient (i.e. easy and quick journey to/from the city). But I agree the airport itself needs to be replaced.

 

[OATEK]

I find the location of TXL very convenient (i.e. easy and quick journey to/from the city). But I agree the airport itself needs to be replaced.

Can't agree more. After several visits I have only ever been in a sprawling collection of temporary looking buildings without any decent amenities (like lounges). Last month there was a large Heineman duty free and a tiny coffee shop in the D? gates area, and that was it. And the building was cold. It was serving flights to Paris, Amsterdam, Helsinki and other major cities and yet seemed incredibly down-market. People keep telling me there is a decent section of terminal somewhere in there with lounges and the like, but I am yet to see it!

 

[Mattg]

Can't agree more. After several visits I have only ever been in a sprawling collection of temporary looking buildings without any decent amenities (like lounges). Last month there was a large Heineman duty free and a tiny coffee shop in the D? gates area, and that was it. And the building was cold. It was serving flights to Paris, Amsterdam, Helsinki and other major cities and yet seemed incredibly down-market. People keep telling me there is a decent section of terminal somewhere in there with lounges and the like, but I am yet to see it!

There is a BA lounge and AF lounge in Terminal A at TXL, right near the Starbucks. Nothing special though.

 

[Foreigner]

By comparison, FRA is so much busier and with world-class facilities (whilst so close to city centre). I haven't flown into Munich but I suspect its airport too may have better facilities than Berlin.

 

[Mattg]

By comparison, FRA is so much busier and with world-class facilities (whilst so close to city centre). I haven't flown into Munich but I suspect its airport too may have better facilities than Berlin.

MUC is definitely bigger and much nicer than TXL, but it is about 40 minutes from the city by S-Bahn.

 

[vantage03]

Yes, about time!
I won't miss TXL either...

 

[A330]

MUC is definitely bigger and much nicer than TXL, but it is about 40 minutes from the city by S-Bahn.

The T1 "A" gates are a long way from the train station though! TXL's redeeming feature is the short walk to the gates.

 

[codash1099]

Deja vu all over again!

 

[burrco]

Thumbs up to the team at the new Berlin airport for doing their bit to fight that hurtful stereotype that Germany is efficient. Special mention also to the team at the Hamburg Philharmonic Hall who are currently running seven years and 500 million euro over budget.

 

[whatmeworry]

So much for German efficiency!

 

[Foreigner]

So much for German efficiency!

and efficacy

 

[jsoprano]

Although I completely agree that the new BER is needed and the overcrowding of TXL and all the temporary buildings are awful, I will still miss TXL. It's my home airport and one where I spend many hours on the visitor deck (before 9-11 admittedly) admiring planes.

Also, the layout of TXL's original terminal (now the "A" gates), with its octagonal layout and the drop-off and pick-up areas within the terminal ring, it is the ideal small city-airport design: 3 mins or less from car to plane or plane to car. I've done that a few times in the past when commuting from FRA regularly (but the security queue has to be non-existent when departing, I admit).

Back in 2006-09 I was working for a large tenant of the Berlin airports (any airport actually), and negotiating the leases for the new BER. It is almost comical now thinking back how we discussed the "potential" impact of delays to the opening date of BER, and the airport's representatives insisting that this is "simply not possible with such a large project". Oh well... the new tenancy at BER stands ready to serve customers, fully fitted out back in 2011. Problem is the company's CI has changed probably 2 or 3 times since, so a new shop fitout is already old before it has seen the first customer being served. What a waste of time and money...

 

[Mattg]

I believe the viewing deck at TXL is still there. Entry costs a couple of Euros from memory.

I do quite like the layout of TXL (well, the A gates anyway) and of course the location but the other terminals (or should I say, sheds) are a joke. And if arriving from outside the EU, queuing inside the airbridge for over half an hour just to pass through one of the 2 or 3 immigration desks is not exactly the best welcome to Berlin.

 

[Mattg]

In case this is of interest to anyone, I did a tour of the new BER airport last year. Here are a few photos: