Do you know you can reserve a security slot at Berlin airport to save time?

Berlin Brandenburg Airport has introduced the ability for passengers to reserve a security slot. This means that you should be able to arrive at the facility, join the line and breeze on through with a minimum of fuss.

This is a little different to the traditional Fast-Track security offered in many airports for premium passengers and those willing to pay. Let’s have a look and see what this is all about.

Reserve A Security Slot

The service is referred to on the airport’s website as BER Runway and allows you to select a security slot free of charge. A separate entrance for this service is provided and wait times are expected to be 5 to 10 minutes.

Reservations open three days before your flight, probably to ensure that you will actually be travelling. The latest you can reserve a slot is an hour before flying to Schengen destinations and 1.5 hours before flying for non-Schengen services.

The kicker is that the time slots are open for 10 minutes. If you miss your slot, you will need to go through the regular security queues, so you really need pinpoint accuracy here. If you’re delayed at the check-in desk or your transport to the airport is late, you will miss your slot. It does not allow for much wiggle room.

That being said, it’s completely free at the moment. When you go to the online reservation portal, you will see it’s operated by CLEAR which people in the USA will be quite familiar with.

Overall Thoughts

The BER Runway service allowing people to reserve a security slot will be a time saver for many people. I imagine it will work for regular travellers, who know what time their train will arrive at the airport, and how long it takes to walk from there to the checkpoint entry. This way you can make your 10 minute slot.

Since it is free, it will really be no big deal if you miss the slot. Normal security will still be open for you. The only issue is that it may take you longer to get through than anticipated. Either way, it is an interesting concept all round.

What do you think of this new ability to reserve a security slot in Berlin? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Images via Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Facebook.