No news here, really: I’ve been talking for months now about how the terminal building on our BBI construction site has been growing higher and higher. We have already been working on the roof for a while, too, and both of our giant caterpillar cranes are kept constantly busy heaving ton-weight steel elements to dizzy heights.

But what exactly is high in this case? My co-workers over at German Air Traffic Control have the privilege of erecting the highest building at the airport. In fact, they’ve been working on the new BBI tower since April 2009. One day it will stand an amazing 72 metres tall, the second-highest airport tower in Germany. In other words, it will be tall enough to give the air traffic controllers a clear view of the sky around the airport. By the way, the new tower will be twice as high as the present tower at Schoenefeld Airport.

Now we already have another good reason to celebrate, as well: the topping-out ceremony will be held on 3 November 2009 once the turret at the top of the tower has been completed. When the first aircraft takes off or lands at the BBI, an initial team of up to eight controllers will sit up there regulating all air traffic movements. And because their job is so important and requires the utmost concentration, there will be rest rooms and sports facilities for them inside the tower, too. Not that I’m envious or anything, but a gym like that wouldn’t do me any harm, either. Sigh!

Wersja drukowana berlin-airport.de (Copyright Berliner Flughäfen)