German airline Air Berlin is demanding at least €48m ($66m) in damages related to the delayed opening of Berlin’s new airport, a court official said.
The case is due to be heard on Wednesday and a decision will come at a later date, a spokesman for the Potsdam court that is hearing the case said on Tuesday.
Already 20 years in the planning when construction began in 2006, the Berlin Brandenberg airport was originally due to open in 2011.
A new date of June 2012 was scrapped just three weeks ahead of the opening and the airport is now not expected to open until 2015 at the earliest, an embarrassment for a country that prides itself on its industrial efficiency.
Air Berlin, Germany’s second-biggest airline after Lufthansa and the largest carrier operating in Berlin, hopes to use the new airport to boost its long-haul routes in cooperation with new shareholder Etihad, the fast expanding Abu Dhabi-based airline.
Air Berlin declined to say exactly how much it is demanding in damages, saying the final amount depended on when the airport actually opened. Chief Executive Wolfgang Prock-Schauer had said on Monday that the airline would be open to an out-of-court settlement.
Etihad bought a 29.21 percent stake in Air Berlin in December 2011. Etihad CEO James Hogan this week announced further ties, including the unveiling of a joint livery Airbus A320 aircraft. This year, the two airlines are also planning joint sales operations and further code sharing across their networks, Hogan added.
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