Berlin Brandenburg CEO says airport is hub-ready but point-to-point will shape its future
The chief executive of Berlin Brandenburg Airport says the facility is capable of hub operations, though its future lies with point-to-point traffic. The airport is Germany's third busiest and approaching 30 million annual passengers.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport is Germany's third busiest airport, behind Frankfurt and Munich, and is nearing 30 million passengers a year, according to its chief executive, Aletta von Massenbach.
In an interview, von Massenbach called the airport "hub-ready" but said point-to-point traffic is its future. The business, she said, is about moving people and aircraft between two points, and without traffic an airport is little more than infrastructure.
BER opened in 2020 after a construction process marked by delays and cost overruns, replacing three airports that had served the German capital. Its CEO said the airport remains below its theoretical potential, partly because some market segments have changed structurally.
Long-haul connectivity remains limited. Ryanair announced in April 2026 that it would close its base there, citing high costs. Von Massenbach took charge of the airport in 2021, after a year as its chief financial officer and chief commercial officer and earlier senior roles at Fraport.
Sources
- aerotime.aeroBerlin Brandenburg CEO: BER is ‘hub-ready’ but point-to-point is its future