Quick answer: Most flights leave from Terminal 1, where check-in is on level E1, with ten check-in islands, 118 counters and 99 self-service machines. Some flights depart from Terminal 2, where check-in is on level E0 — confirm your terminal before you travel. Plan to be at the airport 2 hours before a Schengen flight, 2.5 hours before another non-Schengen European flight and 3 hours before a long-haul one, pack liquids to the 100 ml rule, and confirm your building in the BER terminals guide.
Check live Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) departures on the board above: flight number, destination, scheduled time and status. Departing flights leave from Terminal 1, with Terminal 2 used by some flights, so confirm your terminal before you travel.
Check-in at BER: where to go and when
In Terminal 1 the check-in area is on level E1, with ten check-in islands, 118 counters, two oversized-baggage counters and 99 self-service machines. Terminal 2 has 16 counters and one oversized-baggage counter on level E0, plus 28 kiosks. Opening and closing times are set by your airline rather than the airport: desks typically open two to three hours before departure and close 40 to 60 minutes before take-off, so check your carrier's cut-off. Your allowance is the airline's decision too: the BER baggage allowance checker shows the limits by carrier and fare, and the airlines list shows who flies from which building.
Bag drop and Fast Bag Drop machines
At BER you can print a baggage label at a machine and leave the bag yourself at the marked counter. Fast Bag Drop machines stand on level U1, in the check-in hall and in the pavilions. Departing from Terminal 1, the self-service baggage counters in zones 511 to 516 are open daily from 3.30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; passengers of British Airways, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Qatar Airways use the staffed counters instead. Oversized items go to the large-baggage counter after check-in, not through the security lane.
Dropping your bags the evening before
Three airline groups take checked baggage the night before, all in Terminal 1. Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Lufthansa City and Brussels Airlines use counters 421 to 426 from 5 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., at most 23 hours before departure. easyJet takes bags from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for next-day flights until 9.30 a.m. Eurowings takes them from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., for flights up to noon the following day, free at the machines or €10 per person at the counter. Some Eurowings flights are excluded, so confirm with the airline first.
How early to arrive, and what security expects
The airport publishes no single figure for every flight: it asks passengers to be at the terminal in good time and to check check-in and boarding times with their airline. On that basis, allow 2 hours for a Schengen flight, 2.5 hours for another non-Schengen European flight and 3 hours for a long-haul one. Passengers to the United States and Israel should allow 3 hours as well: the additional screening near the gate opens two hours and closes 30 minutes before departure, and check-in, the main checkpoint and passport control all come before it. Queues build during the 6 to 8 a.m. departure wave and again in the late afternoon.
Some lanes at BER now use CT scanners, where containers of up to 2 litres and your laptop can stay in the bag; other lanes still run conventional X-ray equipment and the 100 ml limit. You do not get to choose your lane, so pack to the 100 ml rule and you will clear either one without repacking. Live security waiting times are shown in the BER app, on the airport website and on monitors in the terminals. The full picture, lane by lane, is in our guide to BER security wait times and liquids rules.
Gates, boarding and what is airside
After security in Terminal 1 you arrive at the central marketplace, and every gate is reached from there. Gates A and B serve Schengen flights on level E1; gates C and D serve flights beyond the Schengen area on level E2. In Terminal 2, security leads to the Plaza, then two bridges to the North Pier, where the waiting areas are on level E0. Every level is drawn out in the BER map and terminal guide. Past the checkpoint you will find duty-free shops, places to eat and airport lounges. Changing planes rather than starting your trip here? See minimum connection times at BER.
Terminal 5 (former Schönefeld) is closed
Terminal 5, the former Schönefeld Airport, is permanently closed, and no flights depart from there. If an old booking or map still says Schönefeld, your flight leaves from the BER terminal complex: check the live board above or the terminals guide.
Getting to BER in time
The FEX Airport Express runs from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to the station beneath Terminal 1 in about 23 minutes on a single €5.00 ABC ticket. Compare every option (train, bus, taxi and ride-hail) on our Berlin Airport to city centre guide, or price your exact trip with the BER transfer cost calculator. For a door-to-door ride see Berlin Airport taxis; if you drive, pre-book a space through Berlin Airport parking. Arriving with hours to spare and no wish to carry everything, there is luggage storage at BER. Meeting an inbound flight as well? Track it on BER arrivals.
