Berlin Airports welcomes today's decision by the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg to close Tempelhof
Berlin Airports welcomes today's decision by the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg to close the inner-city airport Tempelhof. The airport can thus be closed for good on 31 October 2008.
Dr. Rainer Schwarz, CEO of Berlin Airports: "We can now close the highly deficit-ridden Tempelhof Airport in October 2008. Over the past 10 years, we have incurred losses of 115 million euro with the airport. I anticipate that individual airlines will relocate to Tegel before the official closure of Tempelhof. The verdict provides legal security for BBI and is thus an important prerequisite for financing the new airport."
Today's verdict is the third decision to be made on concentrating air traffic in the German capital region on BBI at Schoenefeld. As early as November 2005, the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg legally declared the closure of Tegel Airport at the latest 6 months after the opening of BBI. In March 2006, the Supreme Administrative Court finally gave the go ahead in the last instance for the expansion of Schoenefeld Airport to BBI.
As reported, Berlin Airports is offering the airlines concerned the choice of moving their air traffic to either Schoenefeld or Tegel. Appropriate capacities would be created accordingly. Berlin Airports is to create substitute capacities in the southern section of Schoenefeld Airport to accommodate business aviation. The existing GAT (general aviation terminal) will be extended for the purpose and an additional hangar built.
Traffic figures in Tempelhof have been falling drastically for months now. Finally, in January 2007, a year-on-year comparison of minus 45.4 per cent was reported. The number of passengers transported was only 26,500, just under 900 per day.
Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld GmbH
- Corporate Communications -
Ralf Kunkel
Phone +49 30 6091-2055
Fax +49 30 6091-1643
