Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (25 Sept) welcomed the result of the Tegel referendum, where Berliners voted 56% in favour of keeping the airport, and called on the new German Government to review its plans for Tegel to ensure that Berlin is not left chronically short of airport capacity.

The new Berlin Brandenburg Airport will have a capacity of only 27m passengers, which is less than Dublin (a city with one-third of Berlin’s population). With almost 33m passengers already travelling through Berlin’s existing Schoenefeld and Tegel airports last year, the closure of Tegel would leave Berlin chronically short of airport capacity, impacting employment, tourism growth and business development in the region, with Tegel alone currently supporting 12,000 jobs.

To celebrate the referendum result, Ryanair has released seats for sale from Berlin from just €9.99, for travel from October to December, which are available for booking until midnight Wednesday (27 Sept), only on the Ryanair.com website.

Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said:

“The people of Berlin have spoken, and we welcome the result of the Tegel referendum, with a 56% majority in favour of saving the airport. As a major European capital city, Berlin cannot afford to fall behind rival cities competing for tourists and holiday makers. Saving Tegel will create additional airport capacity and and more competition, resulting in lower air fares and more choice for Berlin consumers and visitors. We urge the new German Government, once formed, to put the retention of Tegel at the top of their agenda, and explore all legal and legislative actions to keep the airport open, as per the will of the people.”