BERLIN"S AIRPORTS REPORT TRAFFIC RISE IN 2017 DESPITE COLLAPSE OF AIRBERLIN

Berlin's Schönefeld and Tegel airports enjoyed mixed fortunes in terms of their traffic performance in 2017, although between them they handled 33.3 million passengers to register a 1.3% rise on 2016.

Schönefeld made gains of 10.4% to 12.9 million passengers, overtaking Cologne and Bonn's airports.

Presents for holidays with aviation themes - >>>

However, Tegel had it tougher, with the passenger numbers dipping by 3.7% to 20.5 million.

Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, CEO of airport operator, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg (FBB) GmbH, admits that 2017 was "a turbulent year" for the city's gateways.

"We had months with double-digit growth, but also a total collapse in March due to the strikes, amongst other things," states Daldrup.

"After airberlin's termination of air traffic, the flight numbers in Tegel sank massively. 

"The fact that we have quite easily managed to grow despite these difficulties truly highlights both how attractive Berlin/Brandenburg is as a destination and the huge commitment of the airports' staff, who have provided a reliable service, regardless of circumstance."

In 2017, a total of 195 destinations were flown to, direct, from Berlin. 

Highlights, says FBB, include Air Canada rouge's maiden flight to Toronto and the return of Delta Air Lines with the air route to New York. 

Furthermore, LOT Polish Airlines, with Warsaw, and Icelandair, with Reykjavik, returned to Berlin. 

It also predicts that this year's milestones will be sure to include the expansion of the easyJet base in Tegel from the 5th January, as well as the new connection to Singapore from June 2018, courtesy of Scoot.