New passenger figures suggest a demand for more direct, long-haul flights departing from the capital’s airport. In response to an inquiry by three SPD representatives, the airport has released a list of long-distance destinations that passengers can only reach with one or more layovers.
According to the list, which the “Tagesspiegel” reported on its Tuesday edition, Bangkok tops the destinations. In 2025, 64,182 BER passengers traveled to the Thai capital via indirect routes. This volume of travelers is equivalent to approximately six weekly flights on a small long-haul jet with 200 seats. Asian and American destinations are the most popular, with twelve destinations in Asia and nine in the United States featured among the top 25 long-haul routes.
The Berlin parliament members Sebastian Schlüsselburg, Jörg Stroedter, and Florian Dörstelmann informed the “Tagesspiegel” that they demand the Federal Government, as BER’s co-owner, to immediately ensure that significantly more non-stop long-haul connections can be offered from the airport. They criticized the situation, stating, “The outrageous monopoly held by Lufthansa in Munich and Frankfurt must be broken”. They added that 35 years after German reunification, it remains unacceptable that the capital is still operating at the standards of old West Berlin. Lufthansa facilitates its long-haul routes through these two major hubs.
