CAPTION: BER airport opens new terminal in time for expected surge in footfall. (picture alliance/dpa)
Berlin's BER airport is opening its second terminal and preparing for a major step up in footfall this year as air travel gathers pace again.
"We're expecting 17 million passengers this year," airport head Aletta von Massenbach said Wednesday, one day before the second terminal is set to begin operations. "T2 is part of preparation for the normalization of air travel" after the restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, she said.
The terminal building is designed to welcome 6 million passengers a year. The completion of the German capital's new airport took years longer than planned, repeatedly blighted by delays and setbacks.
During the building work, it emerged that the main terminal would be too small for projected passenger numbers. T2 was added comparatively quickly, but was not initially needed when the airport finally opened in 2020 - in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, just under 10 million passengers were counted at BER. Before the pandemic, around 36 million passengers went through the Berlin airports Tegel and Schönefeld in 2019. Tegel closed, and BER is built on the same larger site as Schönefeld.
Notice: No person, organization and/or company shall disseminate or broadcast the above article on Xinhua Silk Road website without prior permission by Xinhua Silk Road.
A single purchase
