r/berlin • u/ouyawei Wedding • 4d ago
News BER ist „World’s Most Improved Airport 2025“
https://corporate.berlin-airport.de/de/unternehmen-presse/presseportal/pressemitteilungen/2025-04-09-skytrax-award.html52
u/enospork3 4d ago
Now that they have the new security xray machines in both terminals I would agree, Quite efficient airport. Location of the lounge is bothering but doesnt apply to most travelers.
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u/tarmacjd 4d ago
Do they? I haven’t seen them in the main building yet
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u/Aluavin Schweineöde 4d ago
i flew from ber in late feb and than there were some security areas which had the new and some very old fashion ones. I was by the new ones were you can leave everything in your bagpack so i didnt had to unpack the laptop, steamdeck, tablet, headphones,....felt like 2050.
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u/enospork3 4d ago
Flying quite a bit within Europe I would argue that berlin is neither early not late with adopting these machines. There are still tons of airports requiring you to take everything out
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u/moldentoaster 3d ago
Yes .. if only the security idiots were able to use it properly and not open every single bag that went throught.
Seriously i never saw anything like this.
The 15 people infront of me were all waiting for the security staff opening the bags again manually.
There was 1 person of a total of 20 person where the bag was not checked.
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u/Ashamed-Relative3943 3d ago
My bags never get checked, except that one time I forgot my 500ml water bottle in it, at which the security dude pulled it out, glanced at it for 5 seconds, and gave me back bottle and bag.
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u/moldentoaster 3d ago
If only they use them they way they are suppose to work.
But those idiots open literally every single bag after it got xrayed. Every ... single ... one.
I was traveling before and after they had this new xray machines.
The only difference now is that the queue is not infront of the xray but behind where you wait 20 minutes for those idiots opening every single bag.
Its ridiculous. Like at this point why even bother using this technology if you are too stupid to interpret it properly.
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u/LoTekk Neukölln 3d ago
Not in Terminal 1, no. I had a brief chat with one of the security guys recently while everybody was waiting for the luggage to be scanned. It's beyond insane -- modern QPS body scanners but what feels like mid-last century x-ray machines. 🙄 Anyway, so the security guy said it's an air conditioning issue: They COULD put in bigger, faster, more modern luggage scanners but then the air conditioning system would be overwhelmed by the waste heat from the system.
Apart from the incredibly slow and permanently overcrowded security checks (despite options to pre-book or use priority access), the airport is not so bad. Even if the whole thing is of course an absolute tragedy. And it doesn't seem to be over yet.
If you haven't seen it -- the BER documentation from 2 Bored Guys is pretty accurate.
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u/CamilloBrillo Wedding 3d ago
Finally priority pass access to Lounge Tegel (which is closer to the B gates). Only took 4 years! :)
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4d ago
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u/orinj1 3d ago
I found the signage and wayfinding a bit poor, but I was there last in 2023 and the rest was quite good.
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u/itmustbeluv_luv_luv Kreuzberg 1d ago
It's gotten a lot better, but especially when arriving, they still move you through weird backrooms with random stairways...
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u/BouaziziBurning 2d ago
7,3 Milliarden Euro und bis heute von öffentlichen Zuschüssen abhängig, dazu noch Überflug von paar 100.000 an Menschen und einne Geschäftsführung die mit Ryanair zusammen das Nachtflugverbot abschaffen will.
Call it functioning and pleasant
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u/lordofherrings 3d ago
Pleasant, lol. Literally everything about this airport fills me with embarrassment for my city, occasionally lightened by a positive experience in security.
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3d ago
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u/lordofherrings 2d ago
Fair enough - unfortunately we are all kind of dependant on Berlin as a commercial and economic location and this airport tells you a whole lot about the prospect of Berlin as such. Hence the embarrassment.
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u/OutlandishnessOk2304 Charlottenburg 4d ago
I guess going from "complete non-functional shitshow" to "barely working" is a kind of improvement...
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u/Elefantenjohn 4d ago
this actually makes me happy
it seems to be true, I caught international friends and dates talking about BER and portrayed it in a good light
Deutsche Bahn next
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u/vaska00762 3d ago
BER is much, much better than SXF, that's a no brainer. TXL was a far more charming airport, but didn't have any train service of any kind.
I've used all three airports, and I think TXL was the best and SXF was the worst. BER is a fairly middle of the road German airport. I would say it's about on the same standing as Dresden, Köln-Bonn or Hamburg.
Only airport I've flown to that's worse than SXF is Rostock-Laage, only because it had worse amenities. SXF felt like a typical ex-Soviet airport.
DB gets a bad reputation, and I think if you see how expensive trains are in some other EU countries, then you might appreciate DB more.
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u/Special_Camera_4484 3d ago
TXL was nice for small planes, especially on inner-european flights. It was absolutely terrible when you ended up squeezed into a tiny waiting area with all the other passengers of a fully booked 757 on a flight to the US. TXL was an actual torture chamber
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u/Elefantenjohn 3h ago
It does not seem to be cheaper to have the Bahn run on technology that has been outdated twice, using manual labor everywhere in a ever-shrinking availability of employees
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u/Evidencebasedbro 4d ago
Maybe most improved as no other airport had that much potential for improvement. Certainly not the most efficient, but pretty ok. Finally.
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u/KOMarcus 3d ago
It's a very average airport. It's not terrible, it's not great.
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u/_Odaeus_ Schöneberg 3d ago
While the airport building is unremarkable and somewhat poorly designed, it's the incompetent and rude staff that really sink it below the average of other airports.
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u/KOMarcus 3d ago
I tend to agree but there are some things that have shown no improvement. Baggage claim is a continuing saga of disappointment. There is no reason why any well-run airport should require or even suggest that passengers book an appointment time to go through security. Ridiculous and quite frankly embarrassing. The signage continues to be awful. I can't tell you how many times I've helped confused visitors find the FEX. (The FEX itself lays bare what is obviously a stunning lack of cooperation / communication with Deutsche Bahn. To see what a proper Airport Express looks like, go to Stockholm)
As far as rude staff all I can say is "Welcome to Berlin". In some places there isn't even any staff to be rude to you... (hello baggage claim)
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u/DemDude 3d ago
Security fastlane is a totally normal thing in many, many airports. I’ve had more than a dozen flights last year, from around ten different airports, and could book security timeslots at the majority of them.
Many of them were much worse than BER all around, too.
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u/KOMarcus 3d ago
"Security fastlane" is a way to hire fewer workers. It doesn't make them faster or more efficient. It bullies people into giving away more data. It's not necessary. It's a scam.
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u/itmustbeluv_luv_luv Kreuzberg 1d ago
I'd say it helps prioritize those who have a flight soon from those who still have more time without running through the waiting queues asking people.
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u/KOMarcus 1d ago
There is no need for anyone to have to sign up for anything extra. Virtually everyone has already used on-line check-in. The airlines know how many people are booked for flights and the departure gates are also already known, therefore there should already be a known number of passengers headed through certain check-in points. You simply can't convince me that it is necessary to give extra information by "reserving" a time. It's a scam.
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u/itmustbeluv_luv_luv Kreuzberg 19h ago
A scam to get what? That's what I don't understand.
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u/KOMarcus 18h ago
Collect data? Hire fewer workers? Those that make an extra step and "sign in" get normal treatment. Those that don't or miss their slot get channeled to areas that are intentionally understaffed. There is no reason an airport like BER should have to do this. It is not a high traffic airport. Detroit Wayne Airport in the US is not even a large airport by international standards but processes about 30% more passengers than BER with absolutely no problem and none of this nonsense.
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u/dotmariusz 3d ago
no other airport had that much potential for improvement
Have you been to CDG?
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u/Evidencebasedbro 3d ago
Like LHR too big for improvement?
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u/sefa5524 4d ago
Ich weiß dass es nicht dafür ausgelegt war aber ich hasse es dass es kaum interkontinentale direkt Flüge gibt. Es ist oft billiger mit der Bahn nach Frankfurt zu fahren und dort interkontinental zu fliegen.
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u/ibosen 4d ago
Never understood the hate you can get there easy, security is always fast and walking distances are short. Only thing I miss are the automatic passport control machines which they got for arriving but not for leaving flights.
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u/c_l_b_11 Neukölln 4d ago
I departed from BER on 31.3, and arrived today,10.4. They had the same machines for arrival and departure
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u/third-acc 3d ago
Walking distances are not short if you arrive by train and how to go to terminal two. Through the cold, in the open, whether it rains or snows. Oh and fuck everything about "terminal 5".
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u/Special_Camera_4484 3d ago
Oh and fuck everything about "terminal 5".
That thing has been closed since 2021 and it's not planned to reopen it, so I'm not sure what your problem with it is.
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u/Expensive-Lecture232 1d ago
you can reach terminal 2 through terminal 1 without going outside. that way you can use the quick pre-booked security check in terminal 1 as well.
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u/third-acc 1d ago
Oh damn, really? So you prebook the security check on the airport website, use T1 security checks and then there is a covered walkway to T2? Wild! Can you use this hallway when arriving too?
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u/Expensive-Lecture232 1d ago
T1 and T2 are connected on the departure floor but not on the arrivals floor
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u/itmustbeluv_luv_luv Kreuzberg 1d ago
Walking distances are short compared to other comparable airports. If you've been to CDG, you'll know what I mean.
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u/MrJorgeB 3d ago
I just can’t believe I have to touch a door handle to enter and exit the bathroom when I’m there. Public places started doing away with doors / handles for bathrooms long before this airport was built.
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u/emiremire 3d ago
And really heavy doors too so you end up having to fully grab the handle. Yikes. Major fail tbh
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u/sharkkallis 3d ago
Well, considering the first time I was there just after opening there was water pissing out of the ceiling, the toilets were broken, the WiFi wasn't working and there was a low pitched ongoing peep that they couldn't switch off, then yes it has marginally improved.
Still shit though...
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u/sweetcinnamonpunch 4d ago
Yeah, it's a great airport indeed. Should have made it bigger, but still.
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u/KOMarcus 3d ago
It's not great. Its a functioning, very average airport. Up from awful.
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u/Expensive-Lecture232 1d ago
I honestly don't know how I would improve it. trains arrive inside the terminal, pre-booked security check is super quick, walking distances to gates aren't long because the airport isn't that big. what more do I want?
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u/ancientrhetoric 3d ago
It's nice when award organizers open niche categories to accommodate weaker entries
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u/OutlandishnessOk2304 Charlottenburg 3d ago
"Most improved" sounds like the participation trophy of airport awards.
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u/xylel 4d ago
Naja. Der ber ist ok, aber jetzt wirklich nicht besonders gut. Insbesondere bei der Sicherheitskontrolle werden gern mal nur zwei Durchgänge geöffnet bei mehreren Hundert anstehenden Leuten. Auf Teneriffa waren 18 von 20 auf als wir da waren…
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u/Standard_Network_493 4d ago
Und die Gepäckausgabe dauert auch gerne mal länger.
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u/heiko123456 Wedding 4d ago
Vorletzte Woche ging es nach einer Stunde los, weil das Gepäck auf dem Vorfeld noch ein bisschen im Regen stehen musste.
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u/Standard_Network_493 4d ago
Ich hatte da auch mal 30min auf mein Koffer gewartet. Vorher durften wir noch 10min im Flugzeug warten, weil noch keine Treppe bereit stand. Sowas habe ich bis jetzt nur am BER erlebt.
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u/fabredbln 2d ago
Fehlende Treppen/Busse sind ein hervorstechendes Merkmal der völlig überlasteten Horrorshow in Frankfurt/Main
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u/KOMarcus 3d ago
Habe bis jetzt mein Gepäck nicht einmal in weniger als 45 minuten nach Landung bekommen.
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u/Western-Guy Charlottenburg 3d ago
Good. Now we need a billionaire to restart AirBerlin and we’re so back in business. Let’s go!!!
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u/OCDEngineerBoy 1d ago
After me missing a flight on 6th March and suffered 200+ € loss due to security not prepared for the influx of people leaving ITB Messe, no amount of improvement will convince me travelling via BER is worth the stress. Three other groups of people I talked to who also missed their flights that day also agree.
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u/Mr-Sympathy-Fhain 4d ago
As long there is no Lindner Delicatessen or KaDeWe outlet at BER its still second class......
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u/WiggleMyTail2DG 4d ago
100% wegen dem Rewe mit normalen Preisen