Berlin's Templehof Airport closing

[Warbirdnerd]

From ANN:

Berlin's Historic Tempelhof Airport To Close Played A Key Role In 1948 Airlift

An 85-year-old German airfield with a storied past will close
next year, victim to declining finances and mounting interest in a
larger facility.

Tempelhof Airport in Berlin -- which played an important role in
the Berlin Airlift -- is scheduled to be closed October 31, 2008,
reports The Associated Press.

Built in 1923, and expanded by the Nazis in the years leading up
to World War II, Tempelhof served as the hub for the airlift after
the Soviets divided Berlin into East and West segments in 1948. The
airport sports a distinctive, horseshoe-shaped terminal complex
that is one of the largest remaining examples of
1930s-era architecture in the city.

Sadly, the airport -- now used for short-haul commuter flights
-- has been a money-losing operation for years, despite its place
in history.

This week, the Leipzig-based Federal Administrative Court ruled
Tempelhof will be shut down... overriding complaints by the
airlines still serving the field, as well as commuters who valued
Tempelhof's convenient near-downtown location.

As of November 1, 2008, carriers flying from Tempelhof will need
to transfer operations to Berlin's Schoenefeld airport. In turn,
that facility -- once a former military base -- will be transformed
by 2011 into Berlin-Brandenburg International.

Tegel Airport is also scheduled to close, as Berlin leaders seek
to consolidate airport operations around Berlin into a large
central facility.
FMI: www.berlin-airport.de/EN/index.html

[Forgotten Field]

That is a pretty historic airport. Any local or international efforts to keep it open?

[GIJOE290]

NOOOOOO this can't happen. I've wanted to fly into Templehof on the Luftanisa Ju-52. I've had it planned out for a long time, just haven't ever acted on it due to lack of funds and vacation time.

What a loss. Wonder what will come of it? My mom is from Berlin and lived near there until 1959, when she came to the states.

Last edited by GIJOE290 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.

[Airlift48]

That is a pretty historic airport. Any local or international efforts to keep it open?

There is still a hot at keeping it open. The local group has been gathering steam to preserve T-hof for over 10 years. When we took the C-54 over in 1998, we signed a petition to that effect while wewere there.

THe current THF Support group is ICAT
http://www.flughafen-tempelhof.de/home-engl.html

There is a nemesis, NCAT ( I think)

We are considering a return trip with the "Spirit of Freedom" next year in order to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, but also to be the very last plane out of Tempelhof. How appropriate would that be?


Key: Funding Funding Funding!

[warbird1]

Is this one of the fields that might contain buried Luftwaffe planes and/or parts? It might be a good time to investigate that when it closes and prior to redevelopment. Where was the airport that they found the large cache of burried Daimler-Benz 109 engines at?