With the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, BER for short, Tegel Airport closed, and all air traffic in the capital region will be concentrated at one location.
The last scheduled flights left Tegel Airport on 6 and 7 November 2020. At 3pm on 8 November, an Air France aircraft took off from TXL for the very last time. This marks the end of seven decades of aviation history.
Serving for seven decades in Berlin, Tegel Airport handled the last scheduled flights on 6 and 7 November 2020 and on November 8, an Air France aircraft took off from TXL for the very last time.
With the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on October 31, 2020, BER will be an important hub to support the economic and tourism regions of Berlin and Brandenburg with the world. The heart of BER is the new Terminal 1 between the two runways. More than 40 million passengers can depart or arrive annually from BER with its three terminals. BER thus provides the basis for stable air traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg and creates growth options for the future.
The new airport covers a total area of 1,470 hectares, a figure corresponding to approximately 2,000 football pitches.
The new terminals T1 and T2 are located between two take-off and landing runways laid parallel to each other, which can be operated independently of each other due to the lateral gap of 1,900 metres between them.
The associated gate and aircraft positions are also located compactly between the runways, in the so-called “Midfield”. Terminal 5, formerly Schönefeld Airport, is located in the northern area
North runway: The existing take-off and landing runway currently in place at Schönefeld Airport has been extended from 3,000 metres to 3,600 metres.
South runway: Berlin Brandenburg Airport has a new take-off and landing runway measuring 4,000 metres in length and 60 metres wide.
Taxiways: A flexible taxiway system will help to ensure the new airport is extremely efficient
Passenger boarding bridges: Terminal 1 has a total of 25 passenger boarding bridges, 16 of which are at the Main Pier and a further nine at the South Pier. Aircraft can be reached on foot at the North Pier (walk boarding).
Parking positions: Berlin Brandenburg Airport will have 85 aircraft parking positions to begin with. A further 15 are currently under construction. Moreover, another 30 positions are available in the northern area (formerly Schönefeld Airport).
Restaurants & Shopping at BER
A wide variety of services is available with 120 shops, restaurants and service facilities, spanning more than 20,000 square metres at BER Airport’s Terminal 1 (T1). An extensive range of industries ensures that the various needs and expectations of passengers, meeters and greeters to employees and visitors are met. Regional suppliers from the retail, catering and service sectors are also represented at BER Airport in addition to international brands.
A marketplace measuring approximately 9,000 square metres in size forms the centrepiece in T1 in the security area (airside). The Food Court, situated in a gallery, forms part of the marketplace in T1. Travellers can choose from a variety of food and drink over around 2,000 square metres.
The main focus is on classic fast food, featuring popular options, including regional and international cuisine. More than 50 percent of the service providers are from the Berlin-Brandenburg region.
In T1’s non-Schengen area, there are around 1,400 square metres of retail, restaurant and service space.
There is over 4,000 square metres of retail, restaurant and service space in publicly accessible areas (landside). Various tour operators and car rental companies are represented in arrivals. The range of service offerings is completed by, among others, a Deutsche Bahn travel centre, a tourist information centre and ATMs.
Terminals T2 and T5 also offer a selected range of restaurant facilities. These include a café in T2, a bakery, various shops with a take-away service, a book and press shop and a souvenir shop on the landside. A tourist information desk and foreign exchange bureau are also available in this terminal. A duty-free shop and various food and drink facilities complement the services after the security controls.
A supermarket, a bakery, travel agencies, tourist information offices and currency exchange counters are located in Terminal 5 on the landside. After the security controls, passengers have access to duty-free shops and food and drink facilities, such as a pub and a fast-food restaurant.
Travel to BER
Train connection Terminal 1-2
The “Flughafen BER Terminal 1-2” railway station, with six tracks and three platforms, is located directly below Terminal 1. It is expected that two out of every three passengers will use public transport to travel to the new airport.
Once operations begin, the regional trains will run approximately every 15 minutes between Berlin Central Station and BER. Travel time is approximately 30 minutes; however travellers will require only 20 minutes when the Dresdner Bahn (Berlin-Dresden railway) is opened in 2025. A total of 14 trains stop at the railway station per hour as well as every ten minutes on the suburban railway, and around once per hour on the trip between Dresden and Rostock on the IC route.
Train connection Terminal 5
The former Berlin Schönefeld Airport railway station will remain in operation under the name “Flughafen BER Terminal 5”. Suburban rail will travel every 10 minutes between both stations, whilst buses will be every 5 minutes.
Services from 2020 onwards
• FEX: Central station (Hauptbahnhof) – Ostkreuz – BER Terminal 1-2 (every 30 minutes)
• RE7: Dessau, Bad-Belzig – Berlin city railway – BER Terminal 1-2 – WünsdorfWaldstadt (hourly service)
• RB14: Nauen – Berlin city railway – BER Terminal 1-2 (hourly service)
• RB22: Potsdam – Golm – BER Terminal 1-2 – Königs Wusterhausen (hourly service)
• S9: Spandau – City railway – BER Terminal 5 – BER Terminal 1-2 (every 20 minutes)
• S45: Südkreuz – BER Terminal 5 – BER Terminal 1-2 (every 20 minutes)
Services from 2022 onwards
Train services will be optimised by the end of 2022. This will include “Flughafen BER Terminal 5” railway station being integrated into regional transport. Commissioning of the Dresdner Bahn (Berlin-Dresden railway), due to take place from 2025 onwards, will further expand transport services and reduce the Airport Express (FEX) journey time to and from Berlin Central Station to just 20 minutes.
Road connections
The separate motorway entry/exit point on the A113 autobahn (exit no. 8 “Flughafen Berlin-Brandenburg”) provides a direct and rapid connection from terminals T1 and T2 to Berlin city centre, with the Berliner Ring A10 orbital motorway providing access to the broad catchment area. Terminal 5 can also be reached via the no. 7 junction “Schönefeld-Süd” and the B96a. Passengers and visitors to BER have more than 10,000 parking spaces to choose from.
