BER Airport Entrance Hall Evacuated, Fire Department Investigates
It's currently chaos at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) as the entrance hall is being evacuated due to a fire alarm. The fire department is on the scene, assessing whether this trigger was a false alarm or a genuine emergency. Luckily, the security area remains unaffected.
The evacuation has raised concerns about potential air traffic disruptions. In such emergencies, air traffic control would likely implement alternate plans to keep flights running smoothly.
Historically, BER has had its fair share of challenges. The fire protection and alarm system, for instance, was not constructed according to the permit and failed the mandatory acceptance test required to open the airport. Inspectors found faults in the wiring, programming, and implementation of the system, developed by Siemens and Bosch. The system was designed to manage sprinklers, smoke extractors, and fire doors, but it faced issues with smoke extraction. These flaws delayed the opening of the airport, and the airport company proposed an interim solution using human fire spotters, which was rejected by local authorities.
Despite these issues, the airport has been operational since October 2020, and there have been no reported incidents of this nature in recent times. The latest expansion saw the opening of Terminal 2, providing additional capacity for low-cost carriers like Ryanair and Wizz Air. BER operates under strict noise abatement regulations, prohibiting takeoffs and landings between 00:00 and 05:00. The airport aims to increase its theoretical capacity to 58 million passengers per year by 2035.
As of now, there's no additional information about the current evacuation. We'll keep you updated if any new details emerge. Stay safe!
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