Inside Berlin's New Airport: The $8 Billion Disaster

Once envisioned as an $8 billion symbol of German efficiency, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport instead became a staggering disappointment. Planned to handle 27 million passengers a year, the airport faced endless delays, with over 120,000 critical defects discovered—ranging from tangled cables to nonfunctional fire systems. The project’s failure to meet seven opening dates left its sleek terminals empty and cost taxpayers billions more than expected. How did Germany’s most ambitious airport project become its greatest infrastructural fiasco?

The initial vision for Berlin-Brandenburg was grand. Announced in the early 2000s, the airport was meant to replace Berlin's outdated airports, centralizing all flights into one modern facility. With the excitement surrounding German reunification, the project was seen as a testament to the country’s progress and Berlin’s growing role as a global city.

[vornamenachname]

There are some conspiracy theories that the main thing at BER is not the airport but what lies underneath.

[alexbr]

If you think that is bad, In Mexico they built a new airport outside the city to replace the old Benito Juarez airport. Many years later, the airport is empty, and the old airport that was supposed to be replaced is still saturated and bursting at its seams. The populist government cancelled the original project citing corruption, yet when they audited the project, they found no corruption. The only reason they cancelled it was because it was a project initiated by the previous government that was from the opposition. The cancelled airport was designed by Norman Foster, a well-known figure in airport construction. The airport was primarily funded by the private sector; the government was only going to pay a small piece of the price tag. Do not let stupid people in positions of power.

[peterdavidson]

Probably, with the benefit of hindsight, a more constructive idea to not invest any money in new infrastructure for air travel - should have diverted the 8billion€ into speeding up renewal of Germany's ageing rail network - I'm sure they could have found a better use for the funding somewhere?