At Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER), the number of passenger flights is skyrocketing. Due to the easing of Corona restrictions and the upcoming summer vacations, more airlines are offering more flights to more destinations.
Berlin, June 16th, 2021 (The Berlin Spectator) — If there is anything the aviation industry hates it is things that keep people from flying. Those include volcanic eruptions, terror attacks, wars and pandemics. Corona brought aviation to its knees. But now it seems to be bouncing back. In some of Germany’s federal states, the summer vacations will be commencing within days. On top of this aspect, the easing of travel restrictions because of decreasing Corona infection numbers will make people fly a lot more.
Back in Business
According to FBB, the state-owned company that runs Berlin’s and Brandenburg’s shiny new BER Airport in Schönefeld, air traffic will increase noticeable. Airlines are back in business. There already was growth in the past few months. In May, BER Airport counted two and a half times as many passengers as they had in February, 360,000 of them. Another substantial increase is expected right now.
Once the vacations begin, the daily number of passengers will increase to 20,000 to 30,000, and even to 50,000 on Fridays and Sundays. Things will probably look even better in August. In July and August combined, FBB is hoping to reach 50 percent of the passenger numbers they had at the two former airports Tegel and Schönefeld in 2019, when the world was still standing. In July and August of 2020, 1.5 million passengers took off or landed at those airports. There will be twice as many this year.
Greece, Spain, Turkey and Italy
From BER Airport, 45 airlines fly to 90 destinations in 40 countries right now. In July and August, the airport’s management is expecting 70 airlines to take passengers to 160 destinations in 50 countries. In 2019, the last pre-Corona year, 86 airlines had been in business in the Berlin Brandenburg region. They took people to 183 destinations in 70 countries. Of course, 2019 was a record year with more than 35 million passengers.
Some of the main destinations this summer will be located in Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey. The number of flights to Greece could even exceed those in 2019. Up to 18 flights per day will take vacationers to Greece. Heraklion is a favorite destination there. Palma de Mallorca is popular too. So is Antalya. People will be hitting the beaches all over the place, with their big towels and little plastic shovels. But London and Moscow are important destinations as well.
Takeoff Thrust
Especially the cheap airlines easyJet and Ryanair are now increasing the number of aircraft they will use for flights from and to BER Airport. More pilots will set takeoff thrust and race along BER’s two runways in order to take their passengers from A to B in those metal birds they steer.
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