Berlin, 20 April 2026 On 23 and 24 April 2026, Berlin will become the meeting place for the international air transport industry: Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), visitBerlin and the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK) of Berlin and Cottbus will welcome the global aviation community to this year’s CAPA Airline Leader Summit. Top managers, executives and industry professionals from around the world will travel to the capital to discuss trends, future developments and the sector’s key challenges.

“It is important that industry gatherings such as the CAPA conference take place in the capital region. This raises the profile of Berlin-Brandenburg within the global air transport community and allows us to demonstrate what the location has to offer,” says Aletta von Massenbach, Chair of the Management Board of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH. “Experts from around the world are coming together in the capital to exchange views on key air transport topics – including many decision-makers from airlines, service providers and supplier companies.”

Robert Rückel, Vice President of the IHK Berlin: “The fact that the international air transport industry is coming together in Berlin makes one thing clear: with BER, the capital region has the potential to develop into a high-performing European air transport hub. However, the right political and regulatory framework conditions must be in place. Berlin’s business community depends on direct connections to the world. As IHK Berlin, we will continue to work together with our partners to advocate for connectivity.”

Jens Warnken, President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Cottbus: “The international CAPA conference in Berlin provides an excellent opportunity to make it clear to policymakers once again that Germany as an aviation location urgently needs tangible relief. At the same time, the summit places the dynamic development of the thriving Berlin-Brandenburg airport region in the spotlight. Since BER opened, impressive corporate investment has taken place in the surrounding airport area – a clear signal of the potential that exists. One thing is certain: every new direct and long-haul connection, and every additional airline, strengthens international connectivity, increases the location’s appeal and creates sustainable growth and new jobs for the region.”

Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin: “With the CAPA Airline Leader Summit, we are targeting decision-makers at international airlines and thereby complementing this year’s activities of the Connectivity Board. The aim is to position Berlin as an attractive tourism and MICE venue and to highlight the benefits of new flight connections to and from BER. Against the backdrop of current geopolitical developments, many airlines are currently rethinking their network planning. This opens up new medium- to long-term opportunities for Berlin to secure more international direct connections.”

Connectivity Board: BER, visitBerlin and IHKs join forces

The host of the CAPA conference in Berlin is the Connectivity Board – an alliance of BER, visitBerlin and the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK) of Berlin and Cottbus. Since 2025, the initiative has been pooling regional strengths to promote Berlin-Brandenburg as an air transport location to airlines around the world and thus improve the capital region’s international connectivity. Its goals are to expand the range of connections from BER to European cities and long-haul destinations.

We are particularly pleased this year about the new long-haul connection from Air Canada: from 3 July to 11 October 2026, Canada’s largest airline will operate direct flights from Berlin to Montreal four times a week.

Further information on the CAPA Airline Leader Summit 2026 can be found here.