Getting There By Air

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Flights to Berlin are served by two airports at present, both woefully ill-equipped for a modern European capital, though there is light at the end of the tunnel - Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BBI) is currently being constructed on a site south of Schönefeld Airport, and is scheduled to open by 2012. In the meantime, Lufthansa, British Airways and BMI offer flights to Berlin's Tegel Airport from the UK, while budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair fly from the UK to Schönefeld. Prices remain stable year-round, though it's far easier to get cheap flights if you avoid flying in the summer months and at weekends throughout the year. Flights to Berlin from London take just under two hours.

Berlin-Tegel (Otto Lilienthal) (TXL)
Tel: 0180 500 0186.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de

Berlin-Tegel is located in northwest Berlin, 8km (5 miles) from the city centre.

Airport facilities
The airport offers a poor selection of expensive snack bars, a bistro, a champagne bar and a restaurant. Other facilities include a post office, bank/bureau de change, ATMs, florist, newsagents, duty-free shops, left luggage, 24-hour first aid, tourist information and clothing shops. There are Mercure and Holiday Inn hotels near the airport. Car hire is available from Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Nationalcar and Sixt.

The LSG conference centre (third floor) has four function rooms, as well as a media centre. Secretarial and translation services can be arranged. The GSS Airport Service Center (opposite gates nine and 10) provides fax services for public use. There are also four business lounges in the airport, located in the Airport Gallery, above the main hall.

Transport to the city
The JetExpressBus TXL, operated by Berlin's public transport provider, BVG (tel: (030) 19449; www.bvg.de), leaves the airport for Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Unter den Linden and Alexanderplatz (journey time - 30 to 40 minutes) every 20 minutes. Taxis are plentiful at the airport and there is a taxi rank immediately outside the arrivals' hall. The fare into Berlin is approximately €25.


Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF)
Tel: 0180 500 0186.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de

The airport (still referred to as Schönefeld despite being well on the way to becoming Berlin Brandenburg International Airport), is located in the southeast of the city, 18km (11 miles) from the city centre. By 2012, a brand-new terminal will open here, Tegel will close, and this will become Berlin's sole airport.

Airport facilities
The airport has very mediocre facilities at present: a restaurant, some bars, bank/bureau de change, ATMs, newsagents, duty-free shop and first-aid facilities. Services available 24 hours a day include left luggage, snack bar and hotel reservations. There are Airport hotel and Albergo hotels located near the airport. Car hire is available from Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt. As well as one business lounge on the second floor in Terminal A, conference rooms are available at the Konferenzzentrum Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld GmbH, a 10-minute walk from the terminal.

Transport to the city
The easiest way for visitors to get to Berlin's city centre is with the AirportExpress Schönefeld train, which is operated by DB (tel: 0180 599 6633; www.bahn.com) and runs daily every 30 minutes. The train terminates at Hauptbahnhof (journey time - 30 minutes). The airport station is located 0.5km (0.3 miles) from the airport. The station is also served by S-Bahn trains 9 and 45, as well as some mainline and local rail services. Bus 171 connects the airport with the U7 U-Bahn line at Rudow. Taxis are available 24 hours a day and cost approximately €30 (journey time - 30 minutes).

Approximate flight times to Berlin
From London is 1 hour 45 minutes; from New York is 8 hours 25 minutes; from Los Angeles is 11 hours 45 minutes; from Toronto is 8 hours 30 minutes and from Sydney is 21 hours 55 minutes.