“72 metres!” was the answer I gave my darling Antonia when she asked me last night, her limpid almond eyes wide with curiosity, how tall the future BBI tower will be. This is an unusual show of interest, I thought to myself. I soon discovered the explanation, though. You see, Antonia had just spent a week on Mallorca and on the return journey, she got talking to an air traffic controller. All the way from Palma to Schoenefeld, he seems to have been telling her all there is to know about radar screens, visual approaches and take-off clearances.

Well, anyway, the foundation stone for the new BBI tower was laid just over two weeks ago by Deutsche Flugsicherung, the company in charge of air traffic control in Germany. It will be our second tower on the site alongside the BBI Infotower, which stands 32 metres. The new tower will be the second-highest to be built at a German airport, and its ultramodern design – featuring an elliptical control centre – is perfectly in tune with the innovative architecture of our airport. The light in Antonia’s eyes grew brighter and brighter the more I told her about the tower. I began to feel a little uneasy. This air traffic control person seems to have made quite an impression! It looks like I’m going to have to watch out there…

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