New CEO named for Berlin airports

BERLIN (AP) -- The former head of the German national railway will take over running Berlin's airports, replacing the CEO who was fired in January over massive and embarrassing delays in opening the capital's new hub.

Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer said Friday that Hartmut Mehdorn, who ran Air Berlin after leaving Deutsche Bahn in 2009, will take over as CEO of Berlin airports. He left Air Berlin in January.

The new Willy Brandt airport is supposed to replace the city's two aging and increasingly cramped airports, Tegel and Schoenefeld, which served West and East Berlin respectively during Germany's Cold War division.

It was first scheduled to open in late 2011 but technical problems and other issues have led to constant delays, and it's now not expected to open until 2014 or 2015.