airberlin has expressed great disappointment at the announcement that the opening of the airport will be postponed. airberlin has planned all its infrastructural measures and flight schedules for 3rd June this year at the new airport Berlin Brandenburg. Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO airberlin, said: “We have to work around the change of plan, which presents us with a huge challenge. It presents immense logistical problems for all involved and will also cause additional costs which have yet to be calculated.”

The new airberlin hub is conceived in such a way that airberlin aircraft fly to Berlin from different locations in a system of six traffic waves each day. airberlin passengers are thus able to change planes and continue their flights in a very short time. This system is exactly tailored to the conditions at BER and cannot simply be put into operation at Tegel Airport. Just last Friday, airberlin‘s Board of Management visited the new airport and all parties concerned were confident that BER would go into operation on the 3rd June as planned. It is also clear to airberlin that the safety of passengers must take utmost priority.

Mehdorn: “We will now discuss the new situation with the BER management and bring our customers up to date as quickly as possible.”

airberlin is Germany’s second largest airline. The company has a workforce of 9,200 employees. Each year, airberlin receives over 10 awards for service and quality. The fleet comprises 170 aircraft with an average age of five years, making it one of the most modern fleets in Europe. The airline’s state-of-the-art jets are highly fuel efficient, which contributes toward a long-term reduction in pollution emissions from aircraft. As one of the major European airlines, airberlin flies to 162 destinations in 40 countries. In 2011, over 35 million passengers were transported. In December 2011, airberlin entered into a strategic partnership with Etihad Airways. Since 20th March 2012, airberlin has been a full member of the global airline alliance oneworld®. airberlin operates codeshare flights with oneworld members American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and Japan Airlines.