Bee monitoring at BER

Since 2015, FBB has been testing honey, wax and pollen from its bee colonies for pollutants typically found in air traffic. The analyses are carried out by an independent environmental laboratory in Munich. The samples come from both BER and the Schorfheide forest – a comparable region far away from air traffic.

The results have remained consistent over the years: there has been no significant accumulation of pollutants in the natural products. The honey can be consumed without hesitation.

For monitoring purposes, FBB maintains its own bee colonies on the airport grounds, which are looked after by two beekeepers. The number of colonies varies from year to year; most recently there were seven. In 2025, around 400 kg of honey were harvested, some of which is sold in the BER canteens and some of which is distributed to neighbouring communities.

Bee monitoring is a useful addition to conventional air quality measurements at BER. In addition to measuring equipment on the airport grounds, FBB also operates a station in Bohnsdorf, around two kilometres east of BER. FBB also uses measurement data from Blankenfelde-Mahlow, which is collected by the state of Brandenburg.