A meeting between president Donald Trump, the CEs of some of the biggest airlines in the US and Qatar Airways CE Akbar al Baker devolved into "a lot of yelling," according to a report from NBC News detailing the meeting. The group met in the Oval Office in what NBC News called an "'Apprentice'-worthy showdown." The outlet reported CEs of American Airlines and United Airways were in attendance to air some grievances regarding what they believe are unfair practices by airlines in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. However -- and much to Trump's chagrin -- Delta Airlines CE Ed Bastian was absent. "The president kept going back to it," a source who attended the meeting said regarding Bastian's absence. "There was a lot of yelling." In the end, Trump told the airline CEs to take their issues to the DoT. <br/>
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The much-delayed Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)—which is still on track to open in October 2020—has begun final technical tests, a prerequisite for opening. Airport operator Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg (FBB) said July 25: “In the last few months, FBB, together with its service providers and building contractors, have completed the necessary preparations for the start of the comprehensive operating principle tests (WPP) for BER Terminal T1.” FBB said: “Out of a total of 12 asset groups required to be tested, 10 have already been certified with positive results by testing experts and therefore ready for the WPP.” By the Oct 2020 opening date, BER will have been 8 years delayed. In the meantime, costs have more than tripled from a once calculated E2b (US $2.2b) to E6.5b. <br/>