New Berlin Airport Denies Opening Postponed Again

Officials at Berlin's long-delayed new Brandenburg Airport denied a newspaper report that the opening had been pushed back until 2018.

The airport, originally due to open in 2012, has been under construction since 2006, with red tape and technical problems repeatedly delaying its inauguration.

Newspaper Bild am Sonntag cited a confidential schedule from the airport's project management company WSP/CBP as saying the opening would not be possible until 2018. It said the airport's technical project manager was informed of the delay on September 1.

However, the airport issued a statement saying the report was "incorrect" and that the schedule laid out on Friday -- when chief executive Karsten Muehlenfeld said the aim was still to open in the second half of 2017 -- was the latest plan.

"In a project where 2,000-3,000 emails, letters and meeting minutes are written every day, there are, at times, differing assessments," the statement said.

It said information other than that given on Friday was "taken out of context" and "outdated".