Berlin's new airport welcomes first passengers after nine years

After nine years and billions of euros later, Berlin’s repeatedly delayed new airport finally opened on Saturday with an easyJet flight. The budget airline was greeted by a water salute after touching down at Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport, which was initially planned to open in 2011. Initially, the easyJet plane was due to land simultaneously with a flight operated by Lufthansa, but poor visibility meant the planes landed separately. EasyJet has formed a new partnership with the country’s rail operator Deutsche Bahn to ease passenger transfers by combining plane and train tickets into a single booking. It will be the leading airline at BER after it acquired part of bankrupt Air Berlin in December 2017. In 2019, more than 12m passengers travelled on easyJet’s Berlin flights. But, since then demand for air travel has collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic.<br/>