Berlin's Tempelhof Airport

Although this the world's first commercial airport was once admiringly described by British star architect Lord Norman Foster as being the "mother of all airports", Tempelhof Airport, Berlin's well-loved "City Airport", will soon be closing it's hangar doors for good. A symbol of the Berlin Airlift and the once so highly-held German-American friendship, a nearly bankrupt Berlin city and state government no longer has enough money to keep the historic airport open. And with less than half a million passengers a year using Tempelhof, and Berlin's new "BBI" international airport now finally being built at Schönefeld just southeast of town, profitability for the airport in it's current form is completely out of the question. The facility is simply too small for larger, modern aircraft and it now finds itself literally within the city's center. Just a few smaller commuter aircraft make the airport interesting for some, generally business travelers flying in from other regions of Germany.

There have been repeated calls in recent years to close Tempelhof for good, but numerous local groups have argued that a building of such historical and architectural importance simply must be preserved. And what a long history it has. Originally used as a parade field, the first flights took place here in 1909, Orville Wright being among the pilots. The German Lufthansa was later founded here in 1926, just a few years after the official designation of the grounds as an airport. But the Albert Speer's Nazi era construction plan, Hitler's "master plan for Berlin", gave the airport the distinctive appearance it still has today. The building was designed to resemble an eagle in flight, with its large, semicircular hangars intended to represent its spreading wings. The massive terminal building stretches over a kilometer and was the world's largest building for many years - the Pentagon finally outdid Tempelhof after the war

Indeed so large is the facility that Stuka dive bombers and Focke-Wulf fighters were actually constructed here during the war, in the huge underground labyrinth of tunnels which stretched for miles below the airport. And during the Battle of Berlin, when rapidly approaching Soviet troops neared in April of 1945, the German commander in charge of Tempelhof refused to follow direct orders to blow up his base, choosing to kill himself instead. Although when one takes a closer look at the monstrous structure, it seems unlikely that the Germans could have succeeded in blowing the place up had they so chosen. Like many buildings from the Nazi period, Tempelhof Airport may not impress with its sophisticated architectural design, but the sheer size and monumental nature of the building truly makes it at least appear to be indestructible.

After the defeat of Nazi Germany and the establishment of the occupation zones determined before the end of the war at the Yalta Conference, Berlin too was divided up into its respective zones. Tempelhof Airport was turned over to the United States Army. When the US Air Force was formed in 1947, Tempelhof was renamed Tempelhof Air Base and remained under American control until 1993. But long before the Allied departure, a mere year after the air base was established, Soviet authorities halted all traffic to Berlin by land and by water and the Berlin Blockade began.

"Operation Vittles", as the Berlin Airlift was unofficially called began a few weeks later. And it was during the supply of Berlin with the Berlin Airlift of that Tempelhof Airport came into its own. Every 90 seconds, United States and Royal Air Force cargo aircraft touched down, bringing food and fuel for the residents held captive by Stalin's blockade. In the end, when the blockade failed, when the last Airlift aircraft touched down at Tempelhof in September 1949, more than two million tons of food and fuel had been brought in to supply the defiant Berliners.

The Cold War did not end with the end of the blockade, however, and tensions concerning access problems to West Berlin remained high throughout the 50s and the 60s. But despite the political intrigue and harassment, Tempelhof remained the main terminal for American, British and French military transport aircraft during this period. And up until 1975, the year in which Berlin's Tegel Airport was opened, it was also West Berlin's main airport for civilian flight to and from the city. When the Berlin Wall came down and Germany reunified, the Allied forces stationed in Berlin were of course no longer necessary and USAF 7350th Air Base Group stationed at Tempelhof was officially deactivated in June 1993.

And today, when the few remaining passengers arrive at Tempelhof Airport, they seem to have the place all to themselves. One wanders around the vast structure a bit aimlessly. And there is certainly no need for one to hurry here, you can count the flights on one hand. You might as well have entered some small town airport in the Midwest somewhere; only this small town airport in the heart of Central Europe's bustling New Berlin - and was built to stand a thousand years.

Aber für wie lange noch? But for how much longer will it really stand?