Air Berlin CE blames delays to new airport for insolvency

Air Berlin's CE blamed long delays in the opening of a new Berlin airport for the airline's insolvency in an interview in Die Zeit. "Air Berlin is also a victim of the constant postponements of the new airport," the weekly newspaper Wednesday quoted Thomas Winkelmann as saying. Winkelmann's comments came a day after Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection after key shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. The German capital's new airport was meant to open in 2011, replacing Air Berlin's home airport Tegel and Schoenefeld. "We have Berlin in our name, are the prime carrier here and have designed our whole concept based on transfer traffic at this new airport. That is not possible at Tegel, my predecessors made that painful experience," he added. <br/>