Many families flew south at the start of the summer holidays at BER. It was full at the airport, but according to the spokeswoman, it was comparatively quiet.

At the capital’s airport BER, the second day of the summer holidays in Berlin and Brandenburg got off to a comparatively quiet start. However, both terminals are full, said an airport spokeswoman on Friday morning.

Many families in particular have started their vacation, for example to Palma de Mallorca, Kos, Lisbon or Porto. Six flights for Friday were canceled at short notice, including two in the morning hours. However, it was about connections within Germany, for example to Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart. Around 500 starts are planned for the entire day, said the spokeswoman. “It’s a normal vacation day.”

The largest number of passengers of the summer holidays is expected for Friday. The operators expected 80,000 passengers for the first time. The spokeswoman said there were already around 75,000 passengers at the start of the holiday on Thursday. The morning on Friday was not noticeably different than the day before.

Queues possible

“There may be queues at certain points,” admitted the spokeswoman. “Our BER team is on the road helping and speaking to people, for example at the self-service machines when checking in, and then supporting them.”

By the end of the holiday on August 21, up to three million people will have taken off or landed in planes at BER. During the last pre-Corona summer holidays in 2019, there were still around five million passengers at the then Tegel and Schönefeld airports. The airport company recommends being at the terminal two and a half hours before departure and going to security immediately after check-in.

In June, 1.94 million passengers were counted in Schönefeld. The number of passengers in the first half of the year thus reached 8.7 million.