Passenger terminal at BER approved for use
Commissioning of the airport in Schönefeld secured from the building authorities
28/04/2020
The Dahme-Spreewald administrative district’s local building inspection authority confirmed the completion of the passenger terminal (Terminal 1) at BER following completion of the construction work. After months of the specialist authority checking the documents for construction completion submitted since 2019 by the building owner, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB), there is now nothing to prevent it from being used as a passenger terminal with the commissioning of BER Airport in Schönefeld scheduled for 31 October 2020.
The granted approval for use is a milestone for the opening of BER. "I am very pleased that the ‘passenger terminal’ construction site is finally being completed after years of construction work and that evidence for the safe use of the building is available", says Dahme-Spreewald’s building regulation coordinator, Heike Zettwitz.
Airport CEO Prof. Dr.-Ing. Engelbert Lütke Daldrup also sees the approval for use of the Terminal 1 building as one of the most important steps on the way to reliably commissioning BER. "It was a long and difficult road to the final approval from the building authorities. The last three years of hard work have finally paid off. I would like to thank everyone who has not given up on BER and those who have made the passenger terminal a safe building little by little thanks to their great personal commitment and perseverance. The opening of BER can be a signal during these times that things are looking up again in the capital region and that the economy is getting back on its feet," say the FBB Chief Executive Officer.
The operating company FBB can now start preparations for trial operations (ORAT programme), which will be being carried out alongside some ongoing remaining construction work. ORAT stands for "Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer", which is an internationally established standard procedure for partially testing practical procedures before new airports are commissioned. In the meantime, interior construction for shops, restaurants and a lounge will be carried out over the next few months for passenger terminal tenants and the elimination of minor structural defects will be completed, says the Building Regulations Department. Separate aviation law-related approvals are required for the opening of Schönefeld’s BER Airport. This is not the responsibility of the local building inspection authority but rather the Joint Aviation Authority Berlin-Brandenburg (LuBB).