SXF : Berlin Schoenfeld (Germany)

Ryanair fly to Berlin from ten different destinations : Dublin, Weeze, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Hahn, Stansted, Malaga, Bergamo, Oslo and Stockholm. The airport is c. 20 kms from Berlin city centre.

I have always found transport to and from, check-in, security, shops and food outlets to be very good.

For plane spotting types there is an open air public viewing gallary, open 10am to 6pm, cost €2.

The airport only has a few more years of life left before the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport opens in 2011.

More info is on http://www.berlin-airport.de/EN/index.html



Ryanair flights arrive at the old but perfectly adequate Terminal A.


Once outside the terminal make the 10 minute walk along a covered route to the train station.
This also appears to be designed as a place to stand for a photo opportunity?


Take the Airport Express train - it leaves about every 30 mins and costs €2 for the 30 minute trip.
Most people get off at the main HBF train station or at Zoo station in the western part of the city.
Once you arrive at the city centre you can use the same train ticket to reach any S-Bahn station.
SXF lies to the south east of the city, while Tegel Airport TXL lies to the north west of the city.
http://www.theworldcupingermany.com/artman/publish/article_10.shtml



On the return trip have a currywurst & beer at the marooned train carriage outside Terminal A.


Ensure you avoid entering the new Terminal D where FR's arch rivals Germanwings operate from ...


... and whose cabin crew are not nearly as attractive as FR's delightful cabin crew ...?

It has been reported here in Berlin that Ryan wanted to move to a little-known ex-military airfield at Neuhardenberg east of Berlin, with no rail access or bus routes, but were refused permission by the German authorities. Now, it seems, Ryan has turned its interest to a small airfield between Eberswalde and Finowfurt, north of Berlin. Again, the authorities do not like it; they want BBI to be the region's prime airport. And local residents are not too keen on the idea of 737s and Airbuses in their back yard, either.

I can understand Ryan wanting to move to an airport closer to Poland as half their Schönefeld passengers seem to be from there...

A few more pics of Schönefeld airport, Berlin (Germany).
The new Berlin airport (BBI = Berlin Brandenburg International) is due to see the first plane taking off on 3 june 2012.

Terminal A as seen when coming from the railway station :





Arrivals are on the ground floor :





Departures are on the first floor :





There is an observation deck on the upper level - it costs 2 euros and a full security check to access :





but one can enjoy a good look on the apron and the runway :







... and the present state of BBI (april 2011) :

October 2011 :