Berlin Resumes Airport Development

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Source: Bloomberg

Berlin Resumes Airport Development Amid Operator Fee Concerns

Berlin's delayed plan to build an international airport capable of competing for passengers with European rivals advanced today after the German capital officially re-opened its Schoenefeld airport to development.

Work on the 2,400-acre site began after a court in March rejected a bid by local residents to halt the 2.2 billion euro ($2.8 billion) expansion of the existing airport. Schoenefeld, based on the southeastern outskirts of the city, will be overhauled by 2011, creating as many as 40,000 jobs when complete, said developers Berlin Brandenburg International GmbH, a joint venture between the government and two states, Berlin and surrounding Brandenburg.

The capital aims to boost discount, charter and business- passenger traffic to 22 million passengers within 5 years from the 18 million currently shared between Berlin's three existing airports, a plan that may hurt some existing operators as the developers push up fees to cover their costs, according to EasyJet Plc. Night-flight restrictions may also hamper competition, officials have said.

A restriction on flights between midnight and 5 a.m. ``is a problem that we have to adapt to,'' said BBI Technical Managing Director Thomas Weyer, cited in an interview broadcast today on N-TV business television.