lhrpete

I really don't think Covid is any longer an excuse for poor service standards and we should now be challenging it at every turn. Covid was news eighteen months ago, businesses need to have adapted by now to the 'new normal' which will be with us for quite some time into the future. BER needs to be called out for the poor service they are offering by complaining to them and the airline concerned rather than repeating their excuses.

oliver2002

Covid is not an excuse, but the higher than expected resumption of travel is a valid one. Would you have hired people 2-3 months ago in anticipation that 50-70000 people may show up in BER for the fall vacation weekend?

lhrpete

The problems at BER have been reported on across boards on FlyerTalk for several months, these problems are not related to a single weekend, they are endemic in what appears to many of us to be a badly run airport. Considering how well TXL worked when under far worse stress and strain the failure of BER is stunning. They need to get recruiting and training. Quickly.

TomMM

Flying BER-FRA today. Took 5 minutes to go through the priority security line. I actually like the airport. It is much better than the junky airports I have to use in the US.

oliver2002

Kanye West missed his flight because he showed up only 30 min before departure of his commercial flight on Saturday. https://www.morgenpost.de/flughafen-...n-Flieger.html

He solved the problem by flying private to VCE later in the day Then flew to GOT on sunday and back to BER, from where he flew to NYC on Monday morning.

ZKOKA

Even those who work at BER are stunned at how things do not function properly. The two main issues are currently lack of staff and bad communication between the various stakeholders, including but definitely not limited to the airport operator itself. Staff shortages are primarily an issue at security, passport control and certain check-ins. In TXL all stakeholders generally worked together very well, this has never been the case in SXF and is sadly not yet at BER.

warakorn

With all due respects -> TXL was a mess from time to time as well. Should I start with the security checkpoints in D?

Tyrolean

TXL was a mess at some times, but due to the decentralised security it was easy to calculate. On the other hand: No airport of a big capital city had this short ways: Only a few meters to the taxi. Normal public transport was OK, as it was right in the middle of the city.

BER has now fancy trains (which are on time from time to time). The main problem is that Berlin is a failed state: Every project they start ends in chaos and nobody cares, including the last elections. So yes, Berlin is a banana republic. During the cold war Berlin (East and West) was pampered by the governments to make people happy there. Inhabitants of West-Berlin where excempted from military service, you got nearly unlimited government money for nearly everything. So it was highliy attractive for people who did not want to work, loved left ideas and knew everything better.
After the wall went down, the policy continued. I recommend every German citizen to visit Berlin once a year where he can see where his tax money is wasted. (Austrians should do that with Vienna, similar but not that bad).

Deckter

A city bus, with no space for luggage, is not ok as a public transport option. That airport stopped being fit for purpose in the mid-'90s, let's be honest.

lhrpete

I found the X9 ran so often there was plenty of room on it for as much luggage as you liked in either direction. It may have been a bit crowded at 17.30 on a Friday but otherwise it was a great service and at the Zoo in 15-20 mins. I have no complaints about TXL in 30+ years of regular use.