South-western Berlin finally lit up again on the morning of 7 January 2026 after technicians re-energised the last feeder lines damaged in an arson attack four days earlier. The sabotage—claimed by the far-left “Volcano” group—had ripped through a cable bridge beside the Lichterfelde combined-heat-and-power plant and plunged up to 45 000 households, 2 200 businesses and key mobility infrastructure into darkness. Grid operator Stromnetz Berlin confirmed that electricity, mobile networks and district heating were fully restored by 11:00, ending the capital’s longest outage since 1945.([reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/berlin-restore-power-after-arson-attack-causes-record-outage-2026-01-07/?utm_source=openai))
For global mobility managers the incident was a real-time stress test. Deutsche Bahn’s S-Bahn lines S1 and S7 were suspended for 48 hours, long-distance ICE services were rerouted, and Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) warned of “irregular ground operations” as fueling pumps and baggage belts relied on emergency generators. Several international carriers offered free rebooking for Germany-bound passengers, while hotels around Potsdamer Platz reported occupancy surges of 25 % as stranded travellers sought heated rooms.
Although power is back, corporate travel teams are already rewriting contingency plans. Berlin’s mayor Kai Wegner called for a federal “critical-infrastructure shield” that would harden substations feeding airports and rail hubs. Business associations such as DIHK urged companies to add alternative routing clauses to mobility policies—especially for employees transiting through Berlin’s technology corridors in Zehlendorf and Wannsee, where many multinational HQs and data centres are located.([reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/berlin-restore-power-after-arson-attack-causes-record-outage-2026-01-07/?utm_source=openai))
![Berlin Restores Power After Four-Day Blackout, Spotlight on Business Travel Resilience]()
Amid these operational shocks, ensuring that travellers and assignees hold the correct documentation is just as critical as securing alternative transport. VisaHQ’s Germany hub (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) provides real-time visa requirement look-ups, Schengen extension reminders and expedited courier services to consulates that remain open even when local offices are disrupted. By offloading paperwork to VisaHQ, mobility managers can concentrate on rerouting staff and safeguarding business continuity while knowing that residence-permit and entry-visa applications are still moving forward.
Immigration offices in Berlin’s LEA told relocation providers they will fast-track residence-permit card collection appointments missed during the blackout and waive penalties for late local-registration (Anmeldung). Meanwhile insurers are combing through claims for refrigerated-vaccine spoilage and hotel evacuations—an unusual overlap of employee-mobility and business-interruption coverage.
The episode underlines a wider trend: physical security events—whether political sabotage or extreme weather—are now a core mobility risk in Germany. Travel managers are advised to map energy “single points of failure”, cross-check that e-visa and residence-permit procedures can continue offline, and brief expatriates on local civil-protection channels such as Cell Broadcast alerts.
For global mobility managers the incident was a real-time stress test. Deutsche Bahn’s S-Bahn lines S1 and S7 were suspended for 48 hours, long-distance ICE services were rerouted, and Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) warned of “irregular ground operations” as fueling pumps and baggage belts relied on emergency generators. Several international carriers offered free rebooking for Germany-bound passengers, while hotels around Potsdamer Platz reported occupancy surges of 25 % as stranded travellers sought heated rooms.
Although power is back, corporate travel teams are already rewriting contingency plans. Berlin’s mayor Kai Wegner called for a federal “critical-infrastructure shield” that would harden substations feeding airports and rail hubs. Business associations such as DIHK urged companies to add alternative routing clauses to mobility policies—especially for employees transiting through Berlin’s technology corridors in Zehlendorf and Wannsee, where many multinational HQs and data centres are located.([reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/berlin-restore-power-after-arson-attack-causes-record-outage-2026-01-07/?utm_source=openai))
Amid these operational shocks, ensuring that travellers and assignees hold the correct documentation is just as critical as securing alternative transport. VisaHQ’s Germany hub (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) provides real-time visa requirement look-ups, Schengen extension reminders and expedited courier services to consulates that remain open even when local offices are disrupted. By offloading paperwork to VisaHQ, mobility managers can concentrate on rerouting staff and safeguarding business continuity while knowing that residence-permit and entry-visa applications are still moving forward.
Immigration offices in Berlin’s LEA told relocation providers they will fast-track residence-permit card collection appointments missed during the blackout and waive penalties for late local-registration (Anmeldung). Meanwhile insurers are combing through claims for refrigerated-vaccine spoilage and hotel evacuations—an unusual overlap of employee-mobility and business-interruption coverage.
The episode underlines a wider trend: physical security events—whether political sabotage or extreme weather—are now a core mobility risk in Germany. Travel managers are advised to map energy “single points of failure”, cross-check that e-visa and residence-permit procedures can continue offline, and brief expatriates on local civil-protection channels such as Cell Broadcast alerts.
