The new Berlin airport: A symbol of failure finally ready for take-off

Terminal 1 of Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport, ahead of its opening. Planning of the new airport started in 1996, construction began in 2006 and the opening was originally scheduled for November 2011. But constant trouble with the smoke contr
Terminal 1 of Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport, ahead of its opening. PHOTO: REUTERS
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Germany will breathe a collective sigh of relief on Oct 31 when the new Berlin airport finally opens. It will be nothing short of a nightmare coming to an end.

Haunted by numerous construction troubles, frequent changes of management and repeated postponements to the opening, the airport had become something of a joke. German engineering prowess, oft vaunted as the world's best, became fodder for taunts in Berlin.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 20, 2020, with the headline The new Berlin airport: A symbol of failure finally ready for take-off. Subscribe