Press release

Family festival and farewell to Terminal 5 in Schönefeld
A joint invitation from the municipality and airport company

The municipality of Schönefeld will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on 2 September with a big family festival on the site of the former Berlin-Schönefeld Airport. At the same time, the airport company will be saying goodbye to Terminal 5 of BER on this day.

Next Saturday, the car park in front of what was formerly BER Airport Terminal 5 in Schönefeld will be transformed into a festival site. The merger of the formerly six independent municipalities and current districts, which took place in 2003, will be celebrated together with the residents of the municipality, guests from the surrounding areas and the partner district of Bayangol in Mongolia. 

Visitors can expect a diverse and varied programme at the festival. The event starts at midday on the big stage with performances by nursery and school children and from the community. At the same time, tours of the now closed Terminal 5 of BER Airport, including the Viewing Terrace, will be possible from midday.

The festival, organised by the municipality of Schönefeld in cooperation with Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH, will be officially opened at 2 pm by Mayor Christian Hentschel and airport boss Aletta von Massenbach. While there will be music almost non-stop on the stage afterwards, festival guests can find out about current community life, the history of the Schönefeld site and future projects in the region at numerous stands. The airport company will be there with its own tent. There, employees from various departments will present their work and will be happy to answer questions about flight operations and job prospects at BER. The fire service teams from the municipality and the airport will also present their technology on the festival site and invite visitors to participate in hands-on activities. There will also be numerous food stands.

From 2.30 pm onwards, all guests are cordially invited to take a seat, have some coffee and cake and converse with representatives from the region. The festival will also offer a varied children’s programme with face painting, a bouncy castle and a performance by the clown “Natscha” at 4.30 pm.

Starting at 5pm, the big stage is reserved for the party bands mcBand and JCB. And from 10.30 pm to 1 am, we invite you to one last dance in front of BER Terminal 5. DJ “BOW-tanic” will be playing on the square directly in front of the terminal building. 

Christian Hentschel, Mayor of Schoenefeld: “For me, as mayor of this municipality, it is a gift not only to celebrate the long-awaited opening of BER but now also the 20th anniversary of what is now the municipality of Schönefeld together with the airport. Just like the districts, the airport is an inseparable part of the municipality. At the same time, we officially bid farewell to the former Berlin-Schönefeld Airport, now Terminal 5. We have therefore come full circle. An emotional day that touches me deeply. All the melancholy about the past is outweighed by the joy and excitement about the success story that the municipality of Schönefeld is about to write – perhaps soon as a city.”

Aletta von Massenbach, Chief Executive Officer of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “Both BER employees and former passengers and visitors have many memories of the former Berlin-Schönefeld Airport and Terminal 5. We want to give our terminal a worthy farewell next Saturday and invite you to visit the building once again. In the future, a new, lively urban district will be created on this site, benefiting both BER Airport and the Schönefeld community alike. There is every reason to celebrate together. You are very welcome to join us.”

Since there are not enough parking spaces available, we recommend travelling by public transport: there are buses from the regional transport companies Verkehrsgesellschaft Dahme-Spreewald (RVS), BVG as well as suburban and regional trains. The BER Airport – Terminal 5 railway station and bus stops are in the immediate vicinity of the festival site.

Visits to the terminal building are possible in groups from 12-6 pm, which may lead to waiting times. For guests with limited mobility, a lift is in operation to access the Viewing Terrace in the disused terminal.

Note for media representatives: for organisational reasons, we kindly ask you to apply for accreditation for photos and footage in the terminal building at our press stand in the FBB tent. Recordings are possible at any time between 12-6 pm during the tours.