If it weren’t so expensive and so frustrating, the long-drawn-out story of Berlin’s attempt to open a new modern airport would make a good situation comedy, with a new problem in every episode, and then a new promise or solution, and then the next week a new stumble.
It’s now official: the new terminals, which were supposed to become Berlin’s only airport in 2010, will now not open until at least 2018, and the old Schonefeld terminals, which share the runways and were supposed to close when BER opens, will continue in use at least until 2023, because the new airport is no longer large enough to meet the demand.
The latest problems came around Christmas time, when electronic doors and the sprinkler system failed their tests, making the building unsafe to operate. The project has already cost several times its original estimate; so far €7 billion has been spent, and at least €2.2 billion more is needed. And that’s before the cost of expanding the airport to meet new demands.
The repeated failures have been an open but embarrassing secret for the city and the contractors. Last year, when its public relations chief was a bit too honest, they fired him—for saying that “up until now official statements always said that the project was going well. That’s bullshit.” How right he was!
Photo: Inside the new terminal construction.
