The opening of Berlin’s new airport has been postponed for a third time owing to unresolved problems with the fire-prevention system.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport announced the October 2013 opening date was no longer viable on Monday – the latest delay to an opening originally planned for November 2011.
The original date was pushed back to June 2012 before being postponed at short notice last May.
Regulators then overruled a proposal to open the airport last autumn, leading to a change of management and an opening date fixed for October 27 this year.
No new date has been set following the latest announcement, which in turn followed denials of German press reports last week that the airport will have insufficient ground-handling resources when it opens and that problems continue with underground-fuelling and computer-cooling systems.
The airport – jointly owned by the Berlin city, Brandenburg state and German national governments – has just received a go-ahead from the European Commission for an additional €1.2 billion (£1 billion) in public funds for construction.
Construction costs are reported to have overrun by one third.
Air Berlin expressed disappointment at the fresh delay, saying it meant the continuation of “an unsatisfactory situation for passengers”.
In a statement the airline said: “This will have an adverse effect on all passengers and on airlines.
“Air Berlin has already insisted many times on receiving a reliable opening date which can therefore be planned around. A renewed postponement means that the unsatisfactory situation for all passengers will continue.”
The new airport, next to the site of the existing Berlin Schonefeld airport, will become the city’s sole airport when it finally opens, replacing both Schonefeld and Berlin Tegel.