The old northern runway at Schonefeld would have been a marginally useful addition to a key national airport, especially in snowy conditions (like Helsinki has three, so they can always keep one going in rotation). Quite why it was actually dug up and returned to grassland is not apparent. One result was that Schonefeld was reduced to a single runway airport. When it was reconstructed for the new arrangement, the new BER southern runway was brought into use, in 2015 I read, so quite how we can have a "first landing" when both the BER runways have been in use for years, in varying combinations, is not apparent. I'll put it down to something lost in translation. Although calling the old Schonefeld terminal the "new" BER Terminal 5 is notably being economical with the truth.
I haven't seen how the S-Bahn train now is organised with the split between terminal areas with separate stations. The frequent S-Bahn from Schonefeld station direct to the cross-city east-west line with all its stations through the city was notably more convenient than any transport option Tegel offered.
Last edited by WHBM; 1st Nov 2020 at 13:17.