The Lufthansa Group says it will move its Berlin flights to the German capital’s long-awaited new airport when it opens later this year.
Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Austrian Airlines are set to make the switch from Tegel to Berlin Brandenburg Airport’s Terminal 1 on November 8, while low-cost carrier Eurowings will move to Terminal 2 on November 4.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) was initially scheduled to open in 2011 but has been hit by numerous delays. The project has run more than three times over budget to over €7.3 billion.
Deutsche Bahn runs “ghost trains” in and out of the airport’s dedicated station to keep the system operational, and a four-star Steigenberger hotel built to serve it has stood empty for eight years.
Hundreds of monitors that were turned on for six years – though were never seen by a passenger – had to be thrown out in 2018.
Berlin’s Tegel Airport is set to close after BER opens, though a timeline for this has not been given. Schonefeld, the city’s other airport, will remain operational.
The Lufthansa Group’s move will begin on October 31, and it will spend a week moving its operations.
It said its booking systems have already moved to the new airport, so customers who book flights for November 8 or later will see BER as their destination. Those with flights already booked will be informed of the change.
Lufthansa’s final Tegel flight will be LH1955 from Berlin to Munich on November 7.
Its first BER flight will be LH173 from Berlin to Frankfurt at 0630 on November 8.
A 1,600 sqm Lufthansa Lounge is set to open in Terminal 1 at BER, open to business class passengers on Lufthansa Group airlines as well as those with Frequent Traveller, Senator or Star Alliance Gold status and HON Circle Members.
“Going forward, BER should not have the significant bottlenecks at security checks that were recently the case at Tegel,” said Harry Hohmeister, executive board member of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and chief commercial officer for Passenger Airlines.
“A centrally organised security checkpoint, more modern technologies at the control lanes and more spacious terminals should make the processes more efficient.”
Hohmeister also called for “even better connections between BER and local public transportation as well as to the long-distance rail network,” including “more ICE connections to Rostock, Dresden or Hamburg”.
Hohmeister said such moves “would be good for passengers and for the environment”.
