Positive outcome: Airport operator pleased with today’s test run

Trial operations using volunteer testers officially began today. 116 days before the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens, the first passengers checked in.

Approximately 250 airport testers simulated departing passengers at BER today. All the processes involved in a normal flight were tested, from check-in to security checkpoints and boarding.

Airport chief Prof. Dr Rainer Schwarz summed up the day as follows: “We are very pleased with how today went because most of our processes worked well. The vast majority of testers gave us positive feedback. As expected, the volunteers made valuable comments which we will now assess. The series of tests will continue on Thursday, when we will be able to integrate today’s experiences into our simulation.”

Outlook

Trial operations will take place on 30 days up to 16 May, with a total of 10,000 airport testers playing the role of passengers. The aim is to identify and rectify any errors and problems in the workflows before the airport opens. With the help of the substitute passengers, BER hopes to pave the way for real operations to commence as smoothly as possible on 3 June.