Berlin Brandenburg
Operated By: |
 Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg |
Website: |
ber.berlin-airport.de |
Terminals: |
3 - 1, 2, 5 |
This Review: |
Terminal 1 |
Rating: |
 |
| BER BERLIN TT0107 /221750 |
Last updated 24/02/2022
General: |
Where once Berlin had three airports BER Berlin Brandenburg is now the sole airport for the city, built on the site of the former Schönefeld airport (the terminal building from that airport is now BER terminal 5, the dedicated low-cost terminal once the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic lessen and air traffic recovers). The airport had a difficult birth - originally due to open in 2012, it took until October 2020 to get the building finally open due to major construction defects. Today it's slowly starting to put it's troubles behind it. |
Appearance: |
An airport for the 2000's that failed to open throughout the 2010s and so by 2020 is already looking a little dated even though it's brand new. Compared to the old Tegel it is light years ahead with large open spaces, but the days of getting from the kerb to the gate in seconds are long gone with the standard long walk to far off gates now in control |
Inbound
Domestic
Domestic flights are treated the same as international
International
When you walk up the airbridge you are instantly confronted by passport control, each gate has its own booths. Once through there you are in a holding area for your gate and one other where the baggage reclaim is. This then leads straight into the customs hall and out into the main terminal building. The total walk from your seat on the plane to the arrivals hall is approximately 20 yards!
The bizarre layouts of Tegel are just a distant memory as Brandenburg conforms to the standard layout of coming off of jet bridges into the terminal building and then through to immigration, down into a large baggage reclaim hall and then out into arrivals.
A large spacious baggage reclaim area is very different from the cramped days in Tegel - and because you've had to walk so far from the plane you're far more likely to have your luggage coming round by the time you get to the belt
The standard Blue, Green, Red channels that lead from the baggage reclaim hall to the arrivals hall - there was quite a significant staff presence when I went through, but they didn't appear to be stopping anyone
Berlin Brandenburg Airport station sits directly below terminals 1 and 2 and has frequent train connections into the centre of the city. S9 trains run every 20 minutes onto the main S-Bahn line that runs through Ostbahnhof, Alexanderplatz, Hauptbahnhof and Zoo, taking about an hour to reach Zoo. S45 trains also run every 20 minutes onto the Ringbahn at Südkreuz. Both of these services also call at the station for Terminal 5 (the old Schönefeld airport station). The dedicated FEX regional train runs to Gesundbrunnen and Hauptbahnhof taking about 30 minutes, and some regional trains run to the city centre via Ostbahnhof and Alexanderplatz taking about 30 minutes also.
Outbound
Domestic
Domestic flights are treated the same as international
International
Unlike the days of Tegel where the checkin desk was on top of the gate room providing kerb to plane in less than 100m, today Brandenburg has the long corridors and wide spaces you'd expect from an international airport. From the checkin area there are multiple security lanes through into the Departures lounge (via the Duty Free store) and from there a large number of gates.
I didn't notice anything landside, but airside there are a handful of cafe's and bars
I didn't notice anything landside, but airside there are a handful of cafe's and bars
Nothing landside, airside there are a couple of fast food restaurants.
The usual large selection of shops that you'd expect from an international airport, including the customary giant Duty Free shop that you have to walk through on exiting security. At Brandenburg they've gone for a second bite on the Duty Free cherry as you also have to walk through an equally large Duty Free shop once you've cleared passport control if you're heading to a non-Schengen destination
The toilets are clean and well maintained