Berlin (dpa) - After years of scandal and delay, the main terminal of Berlin's new airport has been cleared to begin operations, the Dahme-Spreewald local authority to the south-east of the German capital confirmed on Wednesday.

The formal go-ahead was issued by the relevant building authorities on Tuesday, which ruled after inspection that Terminal 1 of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) could be opened for use by passengers.

The airport was to have gone into operation in the autumn of 2011, but became a national punchline after planning errors, structural defects and technical problems led to the cancellation of as many as six opening dates. Fire safety was cited as the main issue.

Airport head Luetke Daldrup expressed confidence that there would be no further delays. "We do not see any risks to starting operations in October 2020," he said.

Volunteers are to be recruited to test the terminal's passenger processing systems during the summer. But the first flights are scheduled only for October 31.

A week later, Tegel airport on the opposite side of Berlin will close its gates.

Restrictions resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic have led to a sharp fall in passenger numbers at Tegel and at Schoenefeld, an airport adjacent to BER. Currently only some 1,000 passengers are flying per day.

Once fully operational, BER plans to handle the bulk of passenger traffic to and from Berlin. According to its website, some 35.65 million passengers passed through Tegel and Schoenefeld last year.

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