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CORRUPTION

Berlin airport boss: ‘More corruption possible’

The boss of Berlin’s long-delayed new airport said on Monday he couldn’t rule out further cases of corruption in the massively over budget project which is engulfed in a bribery scandal.

Published: 2 June 2014 17:00 CEST

Berlin airport boss: 'More corruption possible'

Mehdorn (l) and Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit speak to reporters on Monday. Photo: DPA

Chief executive of Berlin Brandenburg Airport Hartmut Mehdorn said further irregularities could be discovered in the awarding of past contracts. “If there is something there, we’ll find it,” Mehdorn said after a meeting of the airport’s supervisory committee.

The meeting was called following the suspension of the airport’s technical director Jochen Großmann amid allegations he demanded €500,000 from a prospective contractor.

A working group of lawyers and anti-corruption experts will on Tuesday examine all contracts awarded by Großmann and report at the next meeting of the supervisory body on June 30th.

According to a report on Monday, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called for an outside body to take control of the airport’s construction costs.

He described the latest corruption allegations as “unacceptable” and wants an independent auditing firm to examine the airport’s costs, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.

Berlin Brandenburg was supposed to open in 2012 but the latest opening estimate is for 2016. It has been held up by fire safety problems and planning mistakes.

The project was initially expected to cost around €2 billion, but it could now reach €7 billion.

SEE ALSO: Bribery scandal hits Berlin airport

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Oslo Airport sees uptick in arrivals ahead of new Covid-19 quarantine rules

AFP PHOTO / Hakon Mosvold Larsen (Photo by Hakon Mosvold Larsen / SCANPIX NORWAY / AFP)

The municipal director who is responsible for the quarantine hotels in Ullensaker, where the airport is located, confirmed the trend to newspaper VG.

“We had a relatively tough weekend, because we believe that those who have become aware that they would be put into quarantine hotels have now arrived much earlier, at the beginning of the Easter holidays,” municipal director Gunhild Grimstad-Kirkeby told VG.

New quarantine hotel rules come into effect from Monday, meaning that anybody arriving in Norway on trips that aren’t considered necessary foreign travel will have to check into quarantine hotels. The rules will tighten further on April 1st.

The earliest opportunity to leave the quarantine hotel would be 7 days after arriving and only if you return a negative test. Previously, Norwegian citizens and residents were allowed to quarantine at home.

The latest government information on rules relating to coronavirus quarantine hotels can be found in English here.

READ ALSO:

Ullensaker has opened an additional quarantine hotel to help it cope with demand. Grimstad-Kirkeby estimated that there are 1,000-2,000 people currently in quarantine hotels around Oslo Airport Gardermoen.

“It was high pressure on Friday, a little less on Saturday and a little less on Sunday. If I am to assume based on the forecasts I have received there will be a decline in arrivals on Monday (when the new rules come into place),” she said.

Travelers at the hotels must pay a 500 kroner per-day subsidy for adults and 250 kroner per-day subsidy for children aged between 10-18.

On April 1st those arriving in Norway must also provide a negative PCR test that has been taken within 24 hours of their departure flight. Once in Norway, they must take a rapid coronavirus test at the airport or border and wait at the test station until the result is returned. If they are travelling for non-essential reasons, they will be required to quarantine regardless of test results.

Foreign nationals who are unable to meet the requirements will be denied entry and Norwegian citizens and residents will receive fines, Justice Minister, Monica Mæland, told VG. Mæland also said there has been a slight increase in travel activity this Easter.

“We meet this (increased travel) with stricter rules. Some disagree and some still travel, we must have a system in place to ensure that we do not get increased infection rates after Easter,” she said.

“The police will decide the size of the fine in each individual case, and there can be imprisonment for up to six months. We have seen examples of some quite hefty fines already. We will do everything we can to prevent import infection,” she said in regard to the potential punishments for those who break the new rules.

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