BER Airport expects 350 million euros in losses

The capital's airport BER will be dependent on money from its state owners for even longer and is also in the red this year due to the Corona crisis. The operator FBB expects revenues of around 267 million euros and an operating loss (Ebitda) of 48 million euros, according to an FBB report to German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU). The group's loss is expected to be around 350 million euros, which is around 50 million euros less than planned for 2021. Due to a noticeable recovery in air traffic, the company made an operating profit from July to October.

Liquidity is currently only secured until the first quarter of 2022, it was said. The new BER boss Aletta von Massenbach had admitted this publicly on several occasions. The airport's financial situation has been difficult for years, as the operating company FBB is in debt to the tune of around 4.5 billion euros, partly due to delays in construction. The owners are supposed to help BER get over the crisis with aid of around 2.4 billion euros by 2026. They announced this in March in a letter of comfort. Berlin and Brandenburg each have a 37 percent stake in FBB, while the federal government holds 26 percent.

The business plan calls for the shareholders to provide just under EUR1.9 billion in five annual installments starting in 2022. Of this, the owners are to provide EUR1.1 billion to partially deleverage FBB and around EUR800 million as liquidity assistance. In addition, Corona's aid of EUR 495 million is to be converted into grants.

At BER, which opened in October 2020 after years of construction delays, many things are still not running smoothly - also due to restrictions caused by Corona protection measures. At the beginning of October, there were long waiting for lines at check-in or baggage claim during the fall vacations. Massenbach has already vowed to improve things but also sees the airlines as having a responsibility here.

The report stated that the disruptions and delays were mainly due to "insufficiently deployed personnel at the various process partners". It added that operations at BER are running stably overall, but not yet optimally. "Our goal is to minimize waiting times as much as possible." They are working on this at full speed.