Last week, the completion of the new Berlin-Brandenburg airport was postponed for the forth time in two years. Meant to replace two of the city’s smaller airports, Tegel in the West and Schoenefeld in the East, the grand opening of this new state-of-the-art metropolitan airport was originally scheduled for October 30, 2011.
Unresolved construction defects forced the opening to be rescheduled first for June 3, 2012, then for March 17, 2013, and most recently for October 27, 2013. But that date, too, had to be scrapped because 20,000 to 40,000 defects remain. Failings range from minor issues, such as cracked floor tiles, to major flaws in the fire protection system. A few weeks ago, an electrical problem caused the entire airport to be lit up around the clock before the turn-off switch could be located.
Earlier this month, Hartmut Mehdorn, the hands-on Ex-Chief of Deutsche Bahn and Air Berlin, became the new Airport Chief. His track record includes ordering last-minute scale-back modifications to Berlin’s new main rail terminal in order to meet the planned opening date. Current projections for the completion of Berlin-Brandenburg airport name 2014 as the earliest date. Most likely, it will be 2015 before the giant airport will open its doors.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: Berlin, Berlin-Brandenburg airport, Berlin-Brandenburg airport opening delayed
