Berlin airport needs more than E550m to support operation

Berlin’s airport operator estimates that it will require more than E550m in additional funding to support the German capital’s recently opened gateway if air traffic in 2021 does not rise significantly above this year’s level. Noting that it already had a deficit before the long-delayed Brandenburg airport opened on 31 October, operator FBB says it pre-crisis plan was based on the assumption that growing air traffic at the new airport would facilitate an improvement in the company’s finances. CE Engelbert Lutke Daldrup predicts that 2021 will be “one of the most difficult years in the history of FBB”. “No airport in Germany will be able to cover its operating costs with the predicted passenger numbers. FBB has been hit by the second corona wave in a situation in which we could have made our way out of the red.” He adds: “Now only two things will help: the willingness of our shareholders to support us during the crisis and the company’s commitment to work as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.” FBB estimates it will require up to E660m in funding if its management’s current outlook – that next year’s air traffic will not grow significantly – is confirmed.<br/>