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 (seen above) 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