Capital airport
Call for help from the breakdown airport BER: The airport’s money will only last until the beginning of 2022
The new BER airport opened a year ago on October 31. Eight million passengers have used it. In Tegel and at the old Schönefeld Airport there were still 36 million passengers in 2019.
© Paul Zinken / DPA
BER Airport, which opened a year ago, urgently needs the next financial injection to avert bankruptcy. In addition, the criticism about broken treadmills and often dirty toilets does not stop there.
One year after the opening of the capital city BER airport, the boss again pointed out the tense financial situation. “We need money quickly, we need cash,” said Aletta von Massenbach to the “Tagesspiegel”. The liquidity of the airport company in Berlin, Brandenburg and the federal government (FBB) is only sufficient until the first quarter of 2022. The company’s former chief financial officer took over the chief position at the beginning of October.
The main task will be to lead FBB out of the crisis: in 2020, the state-owned company made a good billion euros in loss. FBB expects high deficits for the coming years as well. “We will not be able to service the debt ourselves for a long time,” emphasized von Massenbach. FBB needs a further 2.4 billion euros from its three owners by 2026.
Most recently, however, the travel chaos at BER at the start of the autumn holidays has been the main cause of criticism. Due to personnel bottlenecks and more complex controls in the Corona crisis, there were sometimes chaotic scenes at the airport on the second weekend in October. The Federal Ministry of Transport has now requested a written report on the first year of operation.
Shortly before the opening: This is what Berlin’s new airport looks like
22 images
This should show how the current status at the airport is and what can still be improved in the processes, it said at the weekend from the ministry. The airport company’s financial situation should also be discussed. The report is expected by November 5th.
Not just money worries: also operational problems
As the “Welt am Sonntag” reports, the Managing Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer (CSU) is also reacting to the numerous other problems at the new airport. Reports include overflowing garbage cans, broken floor tiles, frequently dirty toilets and defective escalators and elevators, writes the newspaper.
Management should comment on all of these issues by the end of next week and come up with suggestions for solutions. According to the ministry, a conversation between Scheuer and BER chief von Massenbach is planned afterwards.
This assured in the “Tagesspiegel” interview: “I guarantee that we will do everything we can to ensure that it works as smoothly as possible.” The pictures would also have hurt the company very much. “We want to enable people to travel and not make them difficult,” said von Massenbach in an interview with the “Berliner Zeitung”.
Also read:
– As an extra at BER: “We played the airport”
– 2000 days of BER non-opening: never forward, always backward
– Germany’s most embarrassing construction site or the chronicle of the breakdown airport