Berlin airports accessibility

Berlin is served by a single international airport since 2020: Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA: BER, also known as Willy Brandt Airport), which sits roughly 25 km south-east of central Berlin in the state of Brandenburg. The two former airports, Tegel (TXL) and Schoenefeld (SXF), have been closed and consolidated. Tegel shut for good in November 2020. The Schoenefeld site is now part of BER as Terminal 5, currently mothballed and not in scheduled use.

BER is required to provide PRM (Passenger with Reduced Mobility) assistance under EC Regulation 1107/2006. The service is free, booked through your airline at least 48 hours before departure, and covers terminal transfer, lift-and-transfer at the gate, accompanied passage through security and passport control, and luggage help on arrival. The airline passes the request to the airport's contracted ground-handler, who meets you at a designated point.

BER runs a single dedicated mobility service desk, with reception points clearly signed at the kerbside drop-off, near baggage reclaim, and at the main check-in halls. There are designated meeting points (look for the white wheelchair symbol on a blue board) inside Terminals 1 and 2 and at every kerbside lane. The service is operated by the airport's PRM contractor and is free at point of use.

If you have not pre-booked or your assistance fails to materialise, the mobility service desk is the recovery point. Tell your airline you are travelling with a wheelchair when you book and again at check-in, and bring a printed copy of the assistance reference number on the day. The same paperwork applies to onward EU travel from BER.

Service dogs travel free in the cabin on EU and most non-EU carriers under EC 1107/2006 and IATA cabin rules. Bring the EU pet passport or third-country annex IV documentation, the rabies vaccination certificate, and the airline's own service-animal form. The same paperwork applies on departure from BER.

Transfer to central Berlin from BER. Three accessible options. The FEX (Flughafen Express) regional train runs every 30 minutes from BER Terminal 1-2 station to Berlin Hauptbahnhof in around 30 minutes for the regular zone ABC ticket of about 4.40 EUR. The S-Bahn lines S9 (to Spandau via Ostkreuz, Friedrichstraße, and Zoo) and S45 (to Suedkreuz) take 45 to 55 minutes for the same fare. Both rail options use step-free platforms at BER and most central stations; bring assistance for the boarding gap. Accessible taxis run from the airport rank with a fare of around 50 to 65 EUR to central Berlin, depending on destination.

BER has accessible toilets in every terminal area, accessible drop-off and pick-up bays at the kerbside, free wheelchair loans through the assistance desk, and accessible parking rows in every short-stay car park. The detailed BER venue page covering terminal-by-terminal layout, where the accessible toilets are, the lift-and-transfer protocol on departure, and the on-airport accessible toilets is in the next pilot wave. In the meantime, the airport's official accessibility page on berlin.de and the visitBerlin accessible Berlin page cover the same ground at summary depth.