Many can see this Wednesday as belated satisfaction: In Berlin, the capital of construction planning mistakes, things are sometimes finished on time – even if nobody notices.

This is particularly unfortunate for Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), as it is considered a symbol of everything that can go wrong in the metropolis.

Corinna Budras

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Timo Kotowski

Editor in Business.

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Only Terminal 2 of the breakdown airport did not go wrong, quite the opposite.

It could even serve as a prime example of flexible construction planning: When those responsible at Berlin Airport suddenly realized in 2017 that the new capital airport, which had been planned at great expense, was too small, they planned a second terminal, the construction of which remained on schedule and within budget and on time for the opening of Terminal 1 would have been available in autumn 2020 - if the corona pandemic had not destroyed all plans.

At the time, the aviation industry was in an unprecedented crisis, and most flights, whether national or international, were cancelled.

And Terminal 2, although in impeccable condition, remained closed indefinitely.

Until now.

This Thursday the operation should finally start.

More travelers are expected at Easter

The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair will leave for London at 2 p.m. with a full plane.

And already on Wednesday, the airport manager Aletta von Massenbach praised this event as a "sign of the normalization of the aviation industry" - throughout Germany, over sandwiches and coffee at the still locked baggage carousels.

"At Easter we expect up to 70,000 passengers a day," she enthused.

"More than 10,000 guests in Terminal 2."

Not only at BER, but also elsewhere, German aviation is expecting a recovery despite the war in Ukraine - primarily in holiday traffic to holiday destinations in Spain, Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

The Lufthansa Group has announced that it intends to offer 95 percent of the pre-crisis capacity on short and medium-haul routes in the summer.

The hope of the industry is driven by the elimination of corona restrictions.

Since the beginning of March, Germany has not classified any country as a high-risk area, and there are currently no quarantine or registration requirements for returnees.

Vacation countries are also withdrawing restrictions.

A 3-G proof in the Corona app is sufficient for arrival in Greece, other countries want to follow suit.

A more sluggish recovery is expected for long-distance routes – especially as higher kerosene costs have a greater impact on ticket prices there.

According to travel market researcher TDA, before Russia attacked Ukraine, early booking sales for the summer had reached half of the value of 2019, and in 2021 the early booking business had largely failed during the pandemic.

It is uncertain whether the positive trend will continue given rising energy costs.

In its annual study, the research community for vacation and travel found that 70 percent of Germans said they had money for a major vacation trip in 2022 - 8 percentage points more than a year earlier.

However, the surveys had taken place before the turn of the year.

Nobody in Berlin lets that spoil their mood.

One still hopes for smooth processes, which stand in stark contrast to the challenges in Terminal 1.

There was a need for the first general overhaul shortly after it opened: the passenger walkways have been standing still for months for technical reasons and need to be replaced.

In the summer there should finally be functioning moving walks, which will help customers to cover the long distances in the airport.

You won't have to struggle with that in Terminal 2: roller conveyors weren't even planned here.