Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), David O'Brien, has told Airliners.de that that the low cost carrier would like to create a base at Berlin Tegel once the new Berlin Brandenburg International is operational. "If Tegel remains open, we would very much like to station 20 aircraft there within three years," he said. "And bring five million more passengers to and from Berlin."

O'Brien is greatly in favour of keeping Tegel operational when and if Berlin Brandenburg opens its doors, although the airline does not currently fly from the airport, using Berlin Schönefeld instead. "Schönefeld and Tegel now have a total of 33 million passengers. Berlin Brandenburg is designed for 27 million," he said. "It is already full before it has even opened."

As previously reported, Ryanair is supportive of the "Berlin Braucht Tegel" – Berlin needs Tegel – campaign. In contrast, Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) recently came out in support of just one airport for Berlin. O'Brien rubbished the national carrier's claims that two airports will create confusion. "The ridiculous assumption of Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr that the passengers could not distinguish between two airports in a city belongs to the comedy columns, not to the business department. How do people make it in London and its five major airports?"

In the interview, O'Brien also dismissed the Brexit threat, saying that Ryanair is in a unique position to redistribute its bases anywhere in Europe. "The questions we ask about the distribution are simple: Is there enough capacity in one location and are prices competitive? If both are true, then nothing speaks against expansion."