air traffic
Hundreds of flights after midnight in the first year of BER
From November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021, a total of 6856 flights were counted between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Photo: Soeren Stache / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The new BER airport is surrounded by settlements, so a flight ban applies from midnight. There are exceptions to this – but not for everyone.
During the core period of the night flight ban at the capital city airport BER, there were 618 take-offs and landings in the first year of operation.
That comes from figures from the airport company. At BER there is a flight ban from midnight to 5 a.m. However, this does not apply to mail flights, ambulance and rescue flights, military and police operations, as well as emergency landings and overpasses.
There were significantly more flights immediately before and after the night flight ban. From November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021, a total of 6856 flights were counted between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. 5933 of these were commercial flights, i.e. usually scheduled flights, as the Brandenburg state government responded to a request from the AfD. This sees it as “another questionable issue in the stuttering operation” of the BER.
Before the opening of the new airport, there was no night flight ban at the Schönefeld location, but the new regulation is also controversial. Brandenburg repeatedly campaigned for the state of Berlin and the federal government to extend the flight ban in order to protect residents in the densely populated surrounding area.
In the so-called off-peak times from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., scheduled flights are permitted, albeit with restrictions. When fully operational, the airport company expects an average of 77 flights a day during this time, a good four times the amount of the first year of operation.
The Joint Upper Aviation Authority of Berlin and Brandenburg decides on individual exceptions to the night flight ban. A decision in February caused a sensation, because the football professionals of FC Bayern Munich were affected. They were no longer allowed to take off in Schönefeld, although their plane was ready for departure. Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeneß felt “ripped off” and assumed bad will. However, the request for clearance to take off had come at three minutes past midnight.