Press release

A stress-free start into the holidays
3.6 million passengers expected at BER

Holiday time is travel time: Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB) is well prepared for the summer holidays in Berlin and Brandenburg. The airport company expects a total of around 3.6 million passengers in the period between 17 July and 1 September 2024. This is around 200,000 more passengers than in the previous summer holidays. Around 24,000 aircraft will take off or land at BER, which is around 2,000 more than last summer.

Between 80,000 and 85,000 passengers are expected at BER Airport on the classic peak days of Fridays and Sundays. At the start of the holidays, from Wednesday 17 July to Sunday 21 July, 390,000 passengers will use BER, including around 86,000 passengers on Friday.

FBB has optimised and expanded its services in the terminals to ensure a stress-free start to the holidays. BER Runway – booking access to security control – offers several thousand slots every day. BER Biometrics – the contactless use of facial recognition services – was added on 1 July. Various airlines also offer fast bag drop for baggage check-in without waiting times at more than 120 machines in both terminals.

There will be direct flights from BER to 144 destinations in around 50 countries during the summer holidays. Mediterranean destinations are particularly popular, for example, in Spain, Turkey, Italy, France and Greece. The Spanish island of Majorca is particularly popular with around 900 connections, followed by Antalya on the Turkish Mediterranean with 840 connections.

Ryanair offers the most flights with around 4,300 take-offs and landings followed by easyJet with around 3,600 flights and Eurowings with 2,500 take-offs and landings.

Additional destinations during the summer holidays include Salerno in Italy, served by easyJet, Tunis in Tunisia, Adana in Turkey and Casablanca in Morocco with Eurowings. SunExpress added Diyarbakir and Kayseri to its Turkish flight schedule.

Aletta von Massenbach, Chief Executive Officer of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “We have prepared carefully for the summer holidays and expanded our digital services at the airport once again. The entire team is looking forward to helping holiday guests and families as they start their holidays. Passengers using our BER Runway, fast bag drop and BER Biometrics services can make their stay at BER even more reliable and travel without any stress.”

The airport company generally recommends that holiday travellers arrive at the respective terminal two and a half hours before departure. Passengers who use digital services can plan their stay at the airport better:

BER Runway: Passengers can reserve a time slot for access to security control free of charge from seven days before departure. The waiting time is then less than ten minutes.

BER Biometrics: Since the beginning of July, various services can also be used contactlessly using facial recognition. Interested passengers need to download the SmartDepart app onto their smartphone and register there. When booking a flight, passengers will automatically receive a slot for BER Runway, which is valid from two hours before the selected time slot. Travellers can also print out their baggage label contactlessly at the designated machines or use the contactless access they have booked to Lounge Tegel using BER Biometrics.

Fast bag drop: The most convenient way for passengers to check in online is via the app or their airline’s website. Passengers travelling with carry-on baggage only can go directly to security control. A total of more than 120 self-check-in machines are available in the terminals, where travellers can print out their baggage label and then check-in their baggage themselves. Several airlines offer this service.

Lounges: There is an attractive offer on during the holidays for Lounge Tegel, which is easily accessible from both terminals. Guests can use the promo code “SUMMER24” to save EUR 7 per online booking and receive admission for just EUR 29. Tegel and Tempelhof lounge bookings include a large buffet with hot and cold dishes and a wide selection of drinks. Bookings from seven days in advance at: https://ber.berlin-airport.de/en/lounges-vip/lounges/loungebuchung.html

Passengers can find detailed information on how to prepare for their journey here: https://ber.berlin-airport.de/en/fliegen/reisehinweise.html

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