From BZ/dpa
Commissioning of Terminal T2, a mountain of suitcases in summer and a blockade by climate activists: the year for BER was varied – and, as expected, the number of passengers was significantly higher than in 2021.
In the past twelve months, significantly more passengers have taken off or landed at the capital’s airport Berlin-Brandenburg than in the pandemic year 2021 – but as expected, the pre-corona level could not be reached.
Around 19.75 million passengers have been counted at BER since January, as the airport company reported to the German Press Agency. For comparison: In the previous year there were 9.95 million, in the pre-Corona year 2019 more than 35.6 million passengers.
According to airport boss Aletta von Massenbach, the year 2022 went “overall well” for BER. “Thanks to close cooperation and intensive preparation, especially during peak travel times, the processes for departure and arrival have largely settled down.” One has gotten better and better at offering passengers a reliable service.
The busiest month was October, when 2.1 million people flew from or landed at BER. The busiest day was September 23 with more than 82,000 passengers.
In total, the airport recorded 154,000 take-offs and landings throughout the year. The number of passengers rose steadily over the course of the year from 768,000 in January to the annual high in October.
At the end of March, the airport put Terminal 2 into operation, which was used by a good 3.6 million passengers by the end of the year. In mid-November, it was decided that the old Schönefeld Airport would not be used as Terminal 5 in the future either. According to the original plans, the T5 terminal was intended to compensate for impending capacity bottlenecks at BER – but given the current figures, such bottlenecks are no longer assumed.
BER hit the headlines due to a blockade by climate activists from the Last Generation group on November 24th. Flight operations had to be suspended for a good hour and a half, and the action sparked a broad debate about security precautions at airports. At the beginning of December, climate activists returned to the BER site, but flight operations were not affected.
For the coming year, Airport boss von Massenbach expects major challenges again in general: “We are aware of the great imponderables that increased in 2023 with the war in Ukraine, continued high corona numbers, and a lack of staff in almost every industry energy costs and a stagnant economy,” said von Massenbach.