Berlin’s Tegel airport, the fourth busiest in Germany, may stay open after the much-delayed Brandenburg International has opened in 2019.
The city’s residents voted 56% to 42% against closure in a non-binding referendum, held at the same time as the country’s general election.
The result is at odds with Berlin’s local government, which has campaigned to close Tegel on the grounds it would require €1bn in regeneration spending to bring it up to modern safety standards.
Berlin had planned to turn the site into a business, technology and industrial hub.
The vote was non-binding, so the airport may still be closed, if the government is willing to go against the public will.
Reuters suggests that critics of Brandenburg airport believe it won’t meet passenger demand and that Tegel would alleviate the strain.
Image: Tegel airport (Wikimedia Commons/Voekler)
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