The city of Berlin wants to use the former Berlin-Tegel Airport as an initial reception center for refugees from the war zone Ukraine. Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) explained, among other things, that the previous arrival center in Reinickendorf is already completely overloaded.

After the closure of Otto Liliental Airport, Terminal C was temporarily used as a vaccination center. Now the remaining buildings are to be used temporarily for the emergency accommodation of people who have fled from the Ukraine. You want to set up beds for this. A permanent use as a "refugee home" is expressly not intended.

The people who have fled the Ukraine are only to be housed here for a few days and then to be placed in permanent accommodation. Giffey expects that around 13.000 refugees from the war zone will continue to arrive in the German capital. Therefore, the former terminals of Tegel Airport are needed as an initial reception center and as emergency accommodation. It is currently still unclear when the facility will be put into operation, but in view of the many people who have to seek protection abroad because of the Russian Federation's military attack on Ukraine, this should only be a matter of a few days.