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Luftwaffe lacking plans for move to new Berlin airport

The German military’s current airport home in Berlin may be closing, but the Luftwaffe still lacks concrete plans for a move to a new air hub currently under construction, daily newspaper Tagesspiegel reported on Tuesday.

Published: 6 May 2008 09:41 CEST

Luftwaffe lacking plans for move to new Berlin airport

A government Challenger jet. Photo: DPA

The German air force’s VIP squadron, used to fly politicians from one place to the other, will continue to headquarter its long-distance planes near the country’s former capital of Bonn, the newspaper reported.

The seven Airbus A-310 planes located near Bonn must travel to Berlin each time they are needed to escort government officials on a long-distance trip.

Helicopters and small Challenger jets used on shorter trips are now based at Berlin’s Tegel airport. The airport also has a reception area for official government guests.

Tegel is set to close once the city’s new Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport (BBI) opens – scheduled in 2011.

The Tagesspiegel quoted a government spokesman as saying the air force intends to move to BBI but has reached no final decision.

The government wanted to leave its options open to see how the controversy over Berlin’s airports developed, the newspaper reported.

“Discussions are ongoing but have not finished yet,” Berlin Airports spokesman Ralf Kunkel told the Tagesspiegel.

A referendum aiming to keep open the city’s third airport, Tempelhof, failed last month.

Germany's Scholz rejects calls for later retirement in Labour Day message

“For me, it is a question of decency not to deny those who have worked for a long time the retirement they deserve,” said Scholz.

Employees in Germany worked more hours in 2023 than ever before: “That’s why it annoys me when some people talk disparagingly about ‘Germany’s theme park’ – or when people call for raising the retirement age,” he said.

Scholz also warned of creating uncertainty due to new debates about the retirement age. “Younger people who are just starting out in their working lives also have the right to know how long they have to work,” he said.

Scholz did not explicitly say who the criticism was targeted at, but at its party conference last weekend, the coalition partner FDP called for the abolition of pensions at 63 for those with long-term insurance, angering its government partners SPD and the Greens.

Scholz saw the introduction of the minimum wage nine years ago – and its increase to twelve euros per hour by his government – as a “great success”. “The proportion of poorly paid jobs in our country has shrunk as a result,” he said.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Is it worthwhile to set up a private pension plan in Germany?

However, he said there were still too many people “who work hard for too little money,” highlighting the additional support available through housing benefit, child allowance and the reduction of social security contributions for low earners.

“Good collective wage agreements also ensure that many employees finally have more money in their pockets again,” he added.

And he said that the country wouldn’t “run out of work” in the coming years.

“On the contrary! We need more workers,” he said, explaining that that’s why his government is ensuring “that those who fled to us from Russia’s war in Ukraine get work more quickly.”

Work means “more than making money,” said Scholz. “Work also means: belonging, having colleagues, experiencing recognition and appreciation.”

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