Come June 2012, Berlin will open its massive new airport – the Berlin Brandenburg Airport ‘Willy Brandt’ – replacing the German capital’s two existing airports, reports Routard.
With two parallel runways and 25 jet bridges around the U-shaped building, the new complex will handle 27 million passengers a year to start, with the ability to expand up to 45 million passengers annually.
"When we get close to [capacity], then we can construct satellite modules without interrupting flights and add capacity for another 10 million passengers per module," Erich Wurth, media relations staff, explained to German news service Deutsche Welle.
Given the airport code BER, the massive hub will replace Berlin’s existing Tegel and Schönefeld airports, as well as the Tempelhof airport, which closed in 2008.
The new airport is scheduled to open June 3, 2012, after a seven-month delay in construction. Officials are adamant about meeting the deadline – about 4,000 people are now working to help build the airport, with the main terminal almost complete and finishing touches being placed on the jet bridges.