Berlin Cold War-Era Tegel Airport Gets Reprieve Through October

(Bloomberg) -- Berlin’s Tegel Airport has been given a reprieve as easing travel restrictions create demand for flights at the Cold War-era facility.

Passenger traffic is expected to pick up again in coming weeks as lockdowns ease across Europe, and Tegel will therefore remain open through October, according to operator Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH.

“We have to support the newly regained freedom to travel while maintaining high standards of hygiene and distancing,” Chief Executive Officer Engelbert Luetke Daldrup told a news conference on Wednesday. “We have to offer enough space to the airlines.”

Berlin authorities and FBB said last month the airport to the north of the city center would be allowed to suspend operations from June 15 after the coronavirus virtually halted air travel. Flights were slated to be handled instead at Schoenefeld to the southeast of the city until the long-delayed BER airport -- located at the same site -- opens at the end of October.

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