Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt (BER) in Germany has commissioned its southern runway, making the newly inaugurated airport completely operational.
The 4,000m-long southern runway opened with the landing of Qatar Airways flight QR81 from Doha.
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The runway is capable of handling all passenger aircraft that are currently in service. It is equipped with an instrument landing system that will enable aircraft movements in low visibility.
Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg Engelbert Lütke Daldrup CEO said: “With the southern runway, Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt is now in full operation. The commissioning of the runway is especially significant with a view to the expansion of the intercontinental network, because in addition to a new terminal, we now also have the appropriate infrastructure to handle long-haul connections on a larger scale.
“At the same time, the opening of the southern runway is particularly relevant for the surrounding area: the night flying restrictions, which were adopted in 2011 and have now entered into force, provide for the appropriate, citizen-friendly compensation and regulation of the economically important flights during off-peak hours.”
The runway was built using around 1.1 million cubic metres of concrete.
The airport authority has also laid more than 1,125km of special cables, installed 212 video cameras for the runway and associated taxiways and stands, and used around 7,000 halogen and LED lamps to deliver its lighting system.
BER, which was opened last week, features two parallel runways that can be operated independently.
The airport was scheduled to open in 2011. However, technical and construction problems pushed back its inauguration.
