Germany’s Berlin Brandenburg Airport has stated that it will open on 31 October 2020, nine years after the initial target date.
Airport CEO Engelbert Lütke Daldrup announced the opening date to the Supervisory Board.
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Airport construction commenced in 2006 with an initial budget of €2.83bn. The total cost of the project has now increased to €7bn.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport was expected to replace the Tegel and Schönefeld airports, which were deemed inadequate for the city’s future projected air traffic.
Its opening was postponed due to various issues such as technical problems, planning errors and controversies.
The airport construction was delayed as the construction planning company declared bankruptcy in 2010.
In 2012, it was discovered that the airport’s fire protection and alarm system had issues, which have been prevalent to date.
In 2013, the European Union (EU) started an investigation into whether Germany violated EU environmental-protection laws for the airport’s flight routes.
Increased air traffic to the two other airports in 2014 forecasted that Berlin Brandenburg Airport would operate at full capacity on opening. Due to this, the airport needed to undergo redesigns before opening.
In 2015, an investigation was launched regarding alleged fraud by Siemens, Bosch and Deutsche Telekom unit T-Systems about their work at the airport.
In addition, the airport manager was jailed for taking a bribe from the fire protection system company, Imtech. Safety-testing firm TÜV discovered 800 wiring breaches at the airport site.
Tegel Airport is expected to be closed around a week after the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport.
