About Berlin Airport
The security reaction in Berlin is substantial. The security fence between the German capital and Berlin Airport, near the northern railway station, runs alongside the city’s river embankment. Once the passengers are inside the fence, cameras monitor every corner of the airport and can instantly call for help to handle an emergency. Once inside the airport building, travelers have to go through scanners and can only access areas with ticket counters, where they are only required to carry identification cards. The Federal Police conduct extra checks and security audits on all aircraft, and German officials inspect all baggage and freight travelling to and from Berlin Airport.
The German federal police force alone has a huge set of laws and regulations. Individuals that enter Germany or come in contact with German citizens are required to keep up with a daily report of their whereabouts, carry a passport, and carry their identity card with them at all times. The police checks on individuals are further increased when they are traveling to or through Germany, for example by forcing travelers to show their passport, residence permit, identity card and stay within a city limit. If a foreigner fails to provide such documentation within a designated time, the police may demand them to prove their identity. During that time, they are only allowed to leave their hotel in the presence of the police officer.
At the airport, visitors will observe the stringent rules and the obvious identification criteria at the checkpoints. Passengers arriving at Berlin’s airports will be required to maintain their identification cards on them and with them at all times. They will also have to show them to airport officials at the entrance to each terminal. Passengers on the new flights to Berlin will be subjected to baggage searches and maybe further security checks once they arrive at Berlin’s international airport. The German capital has already installed strict security measures at its airports, but Germany’s increased security measures in recent years have also resulted in a reduction in human liberties. In September 2021, a decree went into effect that requires people to cooperate with police in cases of terrorist attacks, otherwise they will be subject to penalties of up to €10,000.
Even with the adjustment in security procedures, flights to and from Berlin will operate on a regular schedule, and authorities are convinced that the changes will have no impact on the airport’s functioning. The airport will be closed after the last flights of the day on September 4, so that German authorities can arrange the new security measures.
History of Berlin’s Airport
Berlin-Brandenburg Airport was founded as an airport for commercial and passenger flights in the summer of 1948. Its first flight to the German capital was made by the German Luftwaffe, during the World War II, on September 25, 1944. One year later, a regular passenger flight operated from Berlin to Prague via Frankfurt, while another flight flew directly from the German capital to Hamburg. The construction of Berlin’s new airport required an extensive process and several shifts, since all equipment used was previously used at the German capital’s existing airports. The German Luftwaffe performed the first flight to the German capital on September 25, 1944, during World War II. The facility was almost finished by the beginning of the next year, but the airport remained unused for several years due to the cold war and tensions between Berlin and the Soviet Union. The Berlin air force lost several planes to Soviet fighters before the Berlin air force could deploy to the airport. By 1963, the airport began operating for commercial flights and it served approximately 500,000 people in the first year of operation. The construction of Berlin’s airport, which included the construction of Berlin’s twin airports Schönefeld and Stuttgart, cost 623 million Deutsche Marks, making it the most expensive airport construction in history. When the Berlin air force was stationed at Berlin’s central air base at Brandenburg, the existing airfields were renamed Berlin-Brandenburg Airbase. The air force began to move to the airbase in 1962. At the end of September 1963, the first commercial flight operated from Berlin’s central airbase to Athens. The air force’s flights to Athens were temporarily suspended after the Soviet Union decided to close the airfield for military flights. On September 26, 1965, German parliament gave the authorities permission to rename the airfield Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, which also became the permanent name of the facility.
The airport has been a key hub for German carriers Lufthansa, Germanwings, and Eurowings since the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The airports in Berlin and Hamburg have regularly had over 50 percent of their entire passenger traffic passing through Berlin’s airport. During the first quarter of 2021, more than 26.7 million passengers passed through Berlin’s airport, which is an increase of more than 8 percent compared to the same period last year.
Subsequent Growth and Development
Today, Berlin’s airport is one of the major European airports and it is responsible for facilitating over 15 percent of all international passenger traffic in Germany and for 25 percent of all air traffic within Europe. The airport currently has regular flights to over 100 destinations worldwide, including all major international hubs and major cities in Germany. The airport’s central location means it is the only major international airport within a 50-kilometer radius.
During the first half of 2021, Berlin’s airport served a total of 63.5 million passengers, including 23.3 million from domestic flights and 40.3 million from international flights. The airport has the largest duty-free shopping area in Europe, including the three biggest airports in Germany, along with the largest shopping centre in the region. The new central location of the airport will allow more international flights and a lower load factor.
During the next decades, Berlin’s airport will expand and the modernization process will continue until it reaches the necessary capacity in the near future. The Berlin airport’s central location will help it attract a greater number of passengers from other regions. The airport is developing its own transit network and other new passenger transportation services. The airport expects its transit traffic to increase to around 90,000 passengers by 2021.
Lagos Airport
All flights to the United States now pass through Lagos. The Americans were not just once represented here by Middle Eastern Air carriers. Middle Eastern Airlines used to be their feeder airline to the Middle East.
It is high time this ceased. Every citizen of Lagos should want American Airlines to go to Lagos, no matter how fat and rich they are.
Allow the Lagos Central Airport to be used for regular flights to America.
After three years of staging for the Australian rugby team and then the Rugby Championships, Lagos does not have a single direct flight to America. What is the point of this insistence for the City of Lagos to be made a city of free trade?
Lagos does not need city status to be recognised as an international hub for business, especially when there is a gateway to get there.
Lagos does not require city status to be recognized as an international business centre, especially because it has a gateway.
Every airport in the world has to have commercial service. Without commercial flights, it is impossible to expect any business entity to invest in the city of Lagos to build a better airport. The airport needs to serve an international hub.
Back in the 1950s, Lagos was designated as a city. The primary road connecting Lagos to the east and south was decided to be a direct access to the city from the west by the founding fathers. That road has not been made better since then.
The Lagos State Government must restore the Lagos-Ogun-Delta highway as quickly as possible so that it can serve both the north and south. Also, the highway cannot support commercial flights because of congestion in Lagos.
In the 1950s, the Lagos Airport was served by First Nigerian Airways. It is what we called the Lagos-Kano-Ibadan route. But then, there was a specific port. Lagos now has two ports. Because Lagos has a deep water port, it has a significant edge over Singapore and Dubai.
As a result of their deep-water ports, Singapore and Dubai have been designated as hubs. But Dubai and Singapore are not making anything of it.