Press­ Release

easyJet and airport company Berlin Brandenburg (FBB) sign lease agreement for hangar location

• After 17 years of local commitment, easyJet – the capital region's home base carrier – is continuing to invest in the Berlin-Brandenburg site and is planning a hangar for the maintenance of its European fleet at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER).
• Construction work on the new hangar is scheduled to start in autumn 2021, with maintenance operations planned for the beginning of 2023
• With a total investment volume of approximately 20 million euros in the existing maintenance station and the new hangar, easyJet is underlining its strong partnership with the airport company Berlin Brandenburg (FBB) and the entire region.

According to current plans, construction of a dedicated easyJet hangar at Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport (BER) is to begin in autumn 2021 in close cooperation with airport company Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB). The construction application documents have been submitted and are currently in the approval phase. The investment project at BER will be easyJet's first ever hangar outside the UK. In it, the company will carry out more extensive maintenance and servicing work as part of its light base maintenance. The hangar will provide space for work on four aircraft at a time, up to the size of the Airbus A321. easyJet had already opened its first line maintenance station outside the UK at BER in the summer of 2020. As part of the line maintenance, work is carried out on the aircraft during ongoing operations and directly on the apron. The construction of its own hangar at BER is the next logical step for easyJet in order to be able to service the BER and European easyJet fleet more comprehensively in Berlin-Brandenburg in the future and thus ensure a smooth maintenance process for the European fleet. With a total investment volume for the maintenance station and hangar of approximately 20 million euros, easyJet as Europe's leading airline underlines the strategic importance of the base at the Berlin-Brandenburg site for its own network, creates valuable local jobs and thus strengthens the economy in the region. 

Stephan Erler, easyJet's Country Manager Germany, comments:

„After 17 years of consistent commitment, we remain connected to the capital region as a home base carrier. The investment in our first continental European hangar underlines the strategic importance of our base for the easyJet network and the close cooperation with the airport company Berlin Brandenburg. Having already opened our maintenance station in 2020, the construction of the hangar is now the logical next step and a sign of the future viability of our location at BER.“

Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, CEO of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH:

„easyJet's decision to make a major investment at Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport is a clear sign that BER is an attractive location for strong international brands in the aviation industry. The choice is also a clear signal for the region, as it shows how attractive the business location is for foreign investors. We are very pleased that easyJet has chosen Germany and BER for its first maintenance hangar outside the UK. We thank our partner easyJet for the great confidence it has shown in our site and the associated appreciation of our long-standing collaboration.“

With the new hangar, easyJet will ensure smooth maintenance and servicing operations, including unscheduled work, for its European fleet, improving operational efficiency and saving maintenance costs in the long term. Since 2004, easyJet has stationed its own aircraft in the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region and since then has been close partners with FBB and the entire economic region. The investment underlines the importance of the base at BER for easyJet and ensures the connectivity of the Berlin-Brandenburg business location and the entire capital region, which is directly linked to a large number of European metropolitan regions by easyJet's extensive route network.

The easyJet hangar is to be built in the new maintenance area of BER. With a total area of 11,500 m², the hangar itself will cover an area of 10,000 m². Construction of the new hangar is scheduled to start this year so that maintenance operations can begin as early as the start of 2023. The construction project is being implemented jointly with FBB. As part of this, the airport company will assume responsibility for construction site installation, earthworks around the building foundations and infrastructure connection. FBB's investment share and the use of space by easyJet will be refinanced by rental payments from the airline to the airport company. easyJet will assume responsibility for the construction design, hangar superstructure and technical facilities.

The easyJet hangar at a glance

• Maintenance: comprehensive maintenance and repair work (light base maintenance) for aircraft of the European easyJet fleet (Austrian AOC)
• Planned start of construction: Autumn 2021
• Planned start of maintenance work: Early 2023
• Location: new maintenance area of BER, south-west of Terminal 1
• Hangar size: 10,000 m², space for four Airbus A321s at the same time
• Hangar area size: 11,500 m²
• Hangar construction: Light steel construction
• Investment volume for hangar and maintenance station: approx. 20 million euros
• New jobs for highly qualified skilled workers/engineers

Answer editorial queries: 

APCO Worldwide für easyJet
Marc Krüger
T : +49 173 483 7968
easyjet@apcoworldwide.com
www.easyjet.com

Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH
Hannes Stefan Hönemann
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)30 6091-70100
E-Mail: pressestelle@berlin-airport.de
www.berlin-airport.de
www.twitter.com/ber_corporate 

About easyJet 

Europe's leading airline easyJet offers a unique and successful combination of the best route network connecting Europe's central airports, great value for money and a friendly service.

easyJet flies more of Europe's most popular routes than any other airline and carried over 96 million passengers in 2019 – more than 16 million of whom were business travellers. The airline has 300 aircraft on almost 1,000 routes between 150 airports in 35 countries. Over 300 million Europeans live less than an hour's drive from an easyJet airport.

In 2004, easyJet established its first base outside the UK in Berlin Brandenburg. Since then, more than 75 million passengers have flown with the airline to and from Berlin Brandenburg. With approximately 900 employees working on local contracts, easyJet is the largest airline in the capital region and a major growth factor for the regional economy, local tourism, and a guarantor for the connectivity of the metropolitan region. From Willy Brandt Airport (BER), easyJet offers the largest selection of direct flights to destinations in Europe, North Africa, and Israel, with around 70 destinations.

easyJet sees itself as a responsible and sustainable company, employing its staff on local contracts in eight countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and in recognition of their trade unions. The airline supports a number of local charities and also has a partnership with UNICEF, which has raised over £14 million for vulnerable children since it began in 2012. easyJet takes sustainability seriously and is the first major airline to offset the CO2 emissions of the fuel for all its flights. The airline sees this as an interim measure until new technologies are available to decarbonise aviation. In the meantime, easyJet will continue to support innovative technologies, operate efficiently, and aim for high seat occupancy. Since 2000, we have improved the efficiency of our CO2 emissions per passenger mile by more than a third. We have set a target to achieve a 38% reduction by 2022.

Innovation is in easyJet's blood – from the start over 25 years ago when easyJet revolutionised air travel, to today when we are leading the way in digital, web, engineering, and operational innovation to make travel even easier and more affordable for our passengers.