EU probes Berlin's hobbled hub

The European Commission has begun a probe into the proposed flight paths for Berlin's indefinitely delayed BER international airport, after receiving complaints from local residents.

"We have received complaints about the Brandenburg Berlin Airport, for which the original 2004 flight paths were approved," a spokesman for EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said on Thursday, adding that the routes have since been altered. "We would say that the current flight paths must be checked, to evaluate the environmental impact of the airport."

The airport project has already developed into a political nightmare in the German capital. Construction began in 2005, and the airport was initially slated for a 2011 opening. After four delays, there is currently no fixed date for a first flight, with a fifth inauguration date - likely for some point in 2014 - currently promised for August.

"This case has no influence on the completion and opening of the BER," airport spokesman Ralf Kunkel said.

Axel Raab of the German DFS air navigation service said that it was possible either that "everything stays the way it is," or that some flight paths would have to be revised. "It could become a lengthy process," he said.

The currently-slated flight paths are under investigation for possibly infringing on areas rich in wildlife like cranes, white-tailed eagles and some sorts of swan and moorhens.

The EU had been considering an investigation since January. Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit, who had to step down as the chairman of the airport supervisory board when the latest delay was announced in January, said in parliament that "you can be quite sure that this will not harm the Berlin-Brandenburg airport."

msh/rc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)