Berlin vs. Frankfurt

The German finance ministry just came out with a forecast of operating profit for the newly inaugurated Berlin Airport (BER) for 2021: a loss of €660 million. At first glance, this is not surprising given the corona-induced reduction of travel. However, a peek from the capital over to the Rhein-Main province reveals a different picture. Frankfurt’s airport, Fraport (FRA), is expected to have an operating profit of €120 million.

Some may argue that FRA is a leading European airport and already well established. The whole reason for building BER was to meet the increasing demand from this growing city which is already nearly 5 times the size (population of 3.7 vs. 0.76 million).

While the private sector in Germany is getting leaner all the time and cutting jobs in record numbers during the current recession, Berlin stands to grow further with an ever expanding government. The Bundestag has consistently grown (originally 402, now 709 members) as well as ministries and lobbying groups. In addition, the green political agenda has led to an explosion of the workforce at NGOs.

So theoretically, FRA should suffer, while BER should prosper. However, the profit numbers above speak for themselves.

The HanseaticHunter

#berlin #fraport #bureaucracy