Berlin-Brandenburg Suffers Further Setbacks

The deadline of Berlin's new airport is unlikely to be kept say sources, after two extensions since October 2011. The German capital is struggling to replace two airports from the Cold War, Tegal and Schoenefeld, with a new international hub, which is to be situated south-east of the city centre.

The original extension expected the Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, also to be known as Willy Brandt Airport, to be finished by the 3rd of June 2012, but in May this was scrapped due to issues with fire safety systems. The new deadline had been set back to March 17th 2013. However, officials have begun a war of words as to the validity of this.

A shareholder of the company, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, "The March opening date is very unlikely to be kept." On Tuesday, the airport responded to press reports in a statement: "Horst Amman, managing director, is currently examining the planned opening date. Any changes will be communicated in a timely fashion."

Berlin-Brandenburg Airport Setbacks

Meanwhile, federal transportation chairman, Anton Hofreiter said, "As far as I know, March 17, 2013 is off the table and the board of directors will discuss how things will proceed from here and whether a new date can be named." In response to Hofreiter's claim, Berlin's senate speaker, Richard Meng, said, "The situation hasn't changed."

Reports have suggested that the airport's company administer, FBB, is in financial difficulty. Finance Minister of the state of Brandenburg and co-owner of the airport, Helmuth Markov, indicated that public and private banks would be willing to provide loans to prevent the company from going under.

It is likely that a new delay won't be officially announced till Thursday, when the supervisory board meets. Other industry experts have asserted that the board may announce another delay, but not suggest a new date.

At the review, they will also discuss temporary funding to keep the project going until next year, with banks offering around 430 million euros.

The delays are concerning airlines due to run from the new airport, including Germany's carriers Lufthansa and Air Berlin, along with UK-based Easyjet. Lufthansa said they needed a "reliable date", so they could make sufficient preparations and testing arrangements.

Image Copyright Berlin Brandenburg Airport