Bavaria’s airport confusion before the Hertha game – “Bus driver says: Julian, get out now!”

FC Bayern avoided landing at BER airport when traveling to the away game against Hertha BSC. It was probably a reaction to the failed trip to Qatar in February 2021.

Berlin Airport BER is not making the headlines – and FC Bayern is currently not in the mood for the capital’s airport.

When traveling to the away game at Hertha BSC on Sunday, which FC Bayern won 4-1 (1-0), the people of Munich avoided landing at the main airport and instead landed in two machines at the Schönhagen airfield. The Bavarians even put up with a 50-minute bus ride to the team hotel on Potsdamer Platz.

The background is probably the unsuccessful trip in February 2021, when Bayern wanted to travel to Qatar for the Club World Cup after an away game at Hertha BSC. However, since the convoy arrived too late and the plane was still on the runway at 11:59 p.m., there was no take-off clearance because otherwise the midnight flight ban would not have been observed.

The entourage then spent the night on the plane. Bavaria’s Honorary President Uli Hoeneß in particular rumbled at the time and spoke of a “total scam”.

Nagelsmann: “Maybe that was due to the trip to Qatar”

When asked about the unusual arrival, coach Julian Nagelsmann was initially reluctant at the press conference after the game: “These aren’t things that I’m too concerned about. I get on the bus and then the bus driver says to me: ‘Julian, now get out!'”

The Bayern coach didn’t want to rule out whether it was really a reaction to the failed trip to Qatar last year: “We have two capable team managers for travel planning. It’s possible that the departure was to Qatar at the time. I saw that we were flying to a relatively small airport. The pilot then braked sharply and I thought that the runway had been shortened, but then I was told: We’re not in Schoenefeld or anywhere else.”