The BER Awaits Its Trial After the Corona Crisis

The new capital airport BER has proven its performance and reliability in its first three months of operation. However, it has not yet been able to demonstrate its full potential due to the ongoing pandemic situation. Representatives of the BER operating company provided a retrospective on the first 100 days after opening at the Air Cargo Club Germany (ACD) with Thomas Kohr, Head of Aviation Marketing, Roland Böhm, Head of Infrastructure & Systems, and Torsten Jüling, Senior Manager Aviation Marketing / Air Cargo.

The capital airport BER is facing multiple trials. Not only did comprehensive hygiene concepts have to be implemented, but the airport can only gradually ramp up its operations: In the first three months, BER processed around 700,000 passengers – which corresponds to only about ten percent of the pre-crisis levels of the predecessor airports Tegel and Schönefeld in 2019. Nevertheless, the responsible parties are satisfied with the start. “The new airport and its infrastructure have proven to be efficient and reliable in the first months. Due to the low utilization, we were able to slowly familiarize ourselves with the new infrastructure,” said Thomas Kohr, Head of Aviation Marketing at Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH during the video conference of the Air Cargo Club Germany.

The Trial Awaits

Roland Böhm, Head of Infrastructure & Systems, who was responsible for planning and executing the trial operation at BER, pointed out that this is not yet a reason for euphoria: “We know that a trial awaits us as soon as passenger numbers rise again. Currently, we face the challenge of developing a routine for the tested processes. This is currently complicated, as many employees of the airport, ground handling services, and other process partners are on short-time work. However, we are in close contact with our partners, especially the airlines, to develop an indication system for the resumption of traffic, so that sufficient personnel is available in time.”

The Cargo Business is Also Affected by Corona

In contrast to passenger operations, the declines in the cargo business are less dramatic, as Torsten Jüling, head of cargo at Berlin Airport, reported at the ACD. Nevertheless, cargo is more affected compared to German pure cargo locations. In January 2021, about 1,700 tons of air freight were moved, which is around 35 percent less compared to the previous year. “The air freight location Berlin depends much more on the belly cargo of long-haul flights than is the case at other airports. Berlin is a typical passenger airport. Our long-haul flights have been suspended due to the pandemic, except for Qatar to Doha, resulting in a relatively large decline in belly cargo,” explains Jüling. Nevertheless, the cargo chief is optimistic that cargo in Berlin will recover again. “In the globally challenging situation, it becomes clear how important a good cargo infrastructure is for the capital region. Due to our favorable geographical location, cargo is currently mainly transported via road feeder services, trucking, and direct deliveries from shippers.”

Impulses from Express Business and New Settlements

Another pillar is the cargo flights of the express services UPS and FedEx, which are processed with the cargo charters for the aid goods center of the DRK in the express center in the northern part of BER. As an air gateway for FedEx and UPS to Poland, the Berlin air freight location has been able to record continuous growth in this area for years. In 2020, tonnage grew by seven percent. Prof. Dr. Christopher W. Stoller, President of the Aircargo Club Germany, said: “We are confident that BER will set new impulses for the aviation location in Germany. The airport also plays an important role in the cargo sector due to its geographical location, further strengthening the cargo location in Germany. In addition, the construction of Tesla’s GIGA factory in Brandenburg will certainly provide new exciting connections.”

About the ACD

The Aircargo Club Germany (ACD) was founded in 1963 as an industry-related interest and discussion platform to promote air freight traffic. The approximately 250 members are senior company representatives from the air freight industry with national or international responsibilities. They represent a growth industry that connects people, countries, and industries and enables free global trade. Photo: © BER www.aircargoclub.de      www.berlin-airport.de