This series is a production of radio spae calf and radio. It's produced by me, joel dulroy, with maisie hitchcock, uran mandick, and daniel sterne. We've drawn on several key sources for all the facts, including the two thousand and 16 birl in parliamentary inquiry into b r. Two sand and nine book b b i anoa belina bank scandal,. The hurdy school of governants report into public interstructure planning from two thousand and 15., as well as our own interviews with original sources. Special thanks to the band ducks for creating the music for this series, and to jim avenon for designing the art
Days away from the planned 2012 opening party, nothing seemed wrong at BER. What was really going on? On this episode, we look at how the airport managers and politicians were messing with the plans, even as construction was underway.
They demanded a 70% increase in terminal space to add hundreds of extra shops, and requested special double story boarding gates for the supersized Airbus A380, even though no airline requested it. Instead of a working fire safety system, they planned to hire up to 800 people to act as human fire alarms.
Despite multiple warnings, the airport board pushed ahead with opening party plans right up until May 8, 2012, when the first major delay was announced. We meet the man who put a stop to it all – Stephan Loge, the administrator of the Brandenburg building department.
Also on this episode, Joel and Jöran visit the Schönefeld S-Bahn station in search of the empty train that runs nightly to the unfinished airport to keep air moving through the tunnels.
Presented by Radio Spaetkauf and RadioEins Producers: Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern Music: Ducks! Artwork: Jim Avignon