From Hildburg Bruns
For Berliners, BER is the gateway to the world – with detours via Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, etc.
“We see a major imbalance,” complains Berlin’s Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (45, SPD). While 180 long-haul flights take off every day in West Germany, in East Germany there are only six from Berlin (see map) – none from Leipzig or Dresden.
The Senate has agreed with Berlin business players on desired routes on which airlines should now be courted: USA (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago), India (New Delhi), Australia, East Asia (Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Bangkok) and to the Middle East (UAE).
After all, the capital region is the boom region in Germany. According to a current study, it will be the fastest growing economic region by 2030. No other federal state has such a strong increase in the number of employed people.
“We need more direct flight connections,” says the ruling Kai Wegner (51, CDU). He is fighting with the federal government for a take-off/landing permit for the airline Emirates (Dubai), which does not want to give up any of its other four locations in Germany. Wegner: “We are in discussions, they are not easy. But the federal government is a co-shareholder in BER and is responsible.”
But there are also deficits on medium-haul routes – for example to France, Italy and Spain. After its meeting on Tuesday at BER, the black-red Senate assured that it would not change the morning and evening operating times.
Light on the horizon: two long-haul flights will be added before the end of the year (Miami, Dubai).