BER Opening delayed ...TXL may get a few months more ...

I learnt today from a friend who works at TXL that delays at BER will give TXL a little more time before closure .. there is a news conference being held at 1pm in Berlin where officials will explain more the delays ...

Link to news link.

http://www.bild.de/news/inland/flug...iner-flughafens-verschoben-24041150.bild.html

I am supposed to fly to Berlin in July...wonder if I'll still be flying into TXL.

Glad to hear TXL will still have more life in it I will miss that airport when its gone.

The article says it's unclear when the opening would be but the reference has been made to August or September.

Lufthansa plans to seek large compensation payments from airport operators as the delayed opening of a Berlin's new Brandenburg airport may inflict unforeseen costs on the airline, Die Welt reported, citing executive board member Carsten Spohr.
http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1336993138.html

You will definitely be flying into TXL. While a new date hasn't been announced yet, the date range being discussed for the revised opening is Oct 2012 to March 2013.

It sounds like it will be developing into a major scandal. While the initial reports blamed the fire safety system, it seems that virtually every major component of construction was significantly behind schedule. The smart money seems to be saying March 2013 will be the new date.

My return flight currently claims that it's leaving from BER...I sense that this won't happen.

Today's newspapers (in German) report that the TUV issued a warning in February that the fire safety system could not be completed by the June 3 opening date, and that the McKinsey consulting firm issued a letter in March stating that in their opinion the airport would be unable to open in time.

But airport management didn't fess up to missing the deadline until May 8.

They also say that AirBerlin and Lufthansa had already been filling their fuel tanks and building the spare parts warehouses at BER, and will now be trucking fuel and parts back to Tegel.

Insiders predict an opening in 2013, unless political pressure causes another wishful thinking date to be selected. Pointedly there was also a picture of the new international terminal in Atlanta, with the sarcastic comment that this project was completed on time.

Major egg on the faces of Berlin airport leadership