Berlin is split into fare zones A, B and C, and BER sits out in zone C. The €4.00 AB single that covers the whole city does not reach the airport, and the €2.80 Kurzstrecke certainly does not. You need the ABC single at €5.00. There are no ticket barriers, but inspectors work the FEX and the S9 and the penalty fare is €60.
Berlin has no gates and no turnstiles, so nothing forces you to validate a paper ticket — but an unstamped ticket is not a valid ticket. Tickets from machines must be stamped in the red or blue boxes on the platform before you board. Inspectors on the airport line are frequent and the penalty fare is €60, charged per person.
Terminal 5, the old Schönefeld terminal, was closed permanently in November 2022 and will not reopen. Every flight now uses Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, which stand next to each other and share one station. If your itinerary, a transfer company or an old guide points you at T5 or at the code SXF, it is wrong — and "S Schönefeld" station is a place, not an airport stop. Walking from it to T1 is not an option.
Until December 2025 the Airport Express looped the long way round via Ostkreuz and Gesundbrunnen, took about 39 minutes and ran only every 30. Since the Dresdner Bahn opened on 14 December 2025 it runs straight in: 23 minutes to Hauptbahnhof, every 15 minutes. Guides and blogs written before that date still tell you to take the S9 because it is "just as fast".
BER's own airport company warns that the only lawful pick-up points are the marked north and south taxi ranks in front of Terminal 1, and that anyone touting outside them risks being a fraudulent operator. Rides that start at BER run on their own tariff (€4.30 base, €2.60/km to 5 km, €2.00 after) plus the €1.50 rank surcharge — the meter, not a quoted price, is the fare.