Business plans obsolete: BER-Start in the crisis: job cuts and a financial hole

Business plans are out of date
BER Start of the crisis: job cuts and a financial hole

The Baukatastrophe at the new capital airport seems to have mastered, after many years, the opening is getting closer. Now Managers and employees wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. But it is different.

The Berlin-Brandenburg airport company will need after the Start of the new capital airport BER will even longer financial assistance as previously planned. The severe crisis in the air travel makes the previous assumptions to be waste.

The state is operating a pivots on a savings rate and relies on millions more-grants of Berlin, Brandenburg and the Federal government.

Previous business plans were totally irrelevant, said Chairman of the Supervisory Board Rainer Bretschneider on Friday after a meeting of the controlling Committee nine weeks prior to the planned commissioning of the new capital airport. Bretschneider: “We have a completely new Situation.”

And is reported to be so: An unprecedented slump in passenger numbers in the most serious crisis in the air travel since the Second world war, there is no prospect of a speedy recovery and continue to costs by the BER, because it will take years until all the bills are paid. This little chance that banks will offer the airport now loans on acceptable terms.

The counter-measures: staff reduction, postponement and cancellation of investments, state grants.

“We will continue to reduce in the next few years, about 400 jobs,” announced CEO Engelbert Lütke Daldrup. This is meant to be social events-tolerated and without redundancies – for example, by not be occupied by members who have quit, retire or whose contract is not renewed. Already this year, 124 Points the way to fall after a hiring freeze.

In the case of the state-owned company will work in some of the years 1700 to 1800 people, the planning. This crisis had already been in front of the Corona is clear that the company would reduce staff, if the BER is not in operation. As with Tegel, one of the two airport locations will be abandoned in November.

Now, the savings is compounded rate. Already this year the number of employees declining to 124, said Lütke Daldrup. Between 50 and 60 million euros would be saved in the company. 250 to 260 million euros you need from the owners, said Lütke Daldrup. These are the States of Berlin and Brandenburg and the Federal government.

For the next year, the statement looks like this: More than 200 million euros in savings in the company, 375 million Euro by the owners – at least, because the business plan is subject to scenarios to the course of the Corona pandemic. This is the favorable scenario, under the assumption that there is already, in Winter, a vaccine.

More likely the middle one of the three scenarios, was Lütke Daldrup said. Then Berlin would reach in the course of the year, about half of the number of passengers by 2019, as it were, nearly 35.6 million. So far, the powers that be thought that the airport in 2024 or 2025, recording at his own cost. Nobody is talking anymore now. Closer to the airport, want to control your the on 9. October discuss, in addition, in a closed-door meeting in January.

Then it should also be clear which investments are moved. Because in the past few years, more and more people from and to Berlin were flown, planned for the 2020s, another Terminal in Schönefeld. The plans for this Terminal 3 could now be possibly put in the drawer.

Currently, to fly to the airports Tegel and Schönefeld is about 30 000 passengers a day-that’s about 25 to 30 percent of the previous year’s figure. “We expect to the autumn, again a slight decline in Numbers,” said Lütke Daldrup. Reason for increasing travel warnings and the decision of the Federal government and the countries to stricter quarantine rules, and the end of free Corona-Tests at the airports were.

Thus, the new capital airport – if nothing comes in between, on the 31. October in the middle of the crisis. Because of the unflattering history of construction defects and cancelled the opening dates is no big Celebration. “It will be a small event,” said Lütke Daldrup. Would expect “the tips of the shareholders, the Supervisory Board and some other process partners”. The farewell from the airport Tegel on 8. November will be smaller than thought, said Lütke Daldrup.

Lufthansa and Easyjet will be the first of the passengers to the capital’s new airport BER will bring. Machines of the two airlines are to on 31. October, at the same time on the two runways set up and at the new Terminal in Schönefeld dock, the airport company announced. The first launches should give it to the next day by Easyjet. Whether the additional terminal T2 can then go in November to the mains, should be in September.

dpa

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