On the 1st of June, Berlin’s Tegel may close its doors, and runways, for two months. "In the morning my neighbor came to me and asked if I had heard all the planes flying low over the house all night -- they were moving them from Tempelhof to Tegel," she says. Travelers using Berlin's U-Bahn metro system had to change to a bus at Kurt-Schumacher-Platz. All air traffic in the capital region is thus concentrated at Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport. When aviation took off in more than one way, West Berlin’s other airport, Tempelhof, was nearly bursting. Find the perfect Tegel Airport To Close In 2012 stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Sunday, Nov. 8 marked the end of an era in Berlin, Germany, as Tegel Airport, the main airport which has represented the capital for decades, came to a close after more than 70 years of operation. They are already renaming this airport’s terminals. After that, the future is somewhat uncertain. When Tegel was closed, things were particularly emotional because for many Berliners a piece of their personal (travel) history is related to this ensemble from the 1970s by famous german architect Meinhard von Gerkan. PanAm, a legendary former U.S. airline, followed in 1964. Join us on a 12-month journey to see them all, 10 best hidden Cold War sites in former West Germany, Secret places: Germany's lesser-known gems, The Greek airport that was left to fall apart. Goodbye to the last major airport in Berlin. Berlin’s Tegel Airport will be closing for good on November 8th, 2020. Lukas Koster , CC BY-SA Brandenburg is the newest airport on the scene, but despite building … Tegel Airport. It's not a sleekly designed airport strewn with massage seats and smart screens. The shareholders’ meeting for Berlin Brandenburg and Federal Airports (FBB) decided last Wednesday that Berlin-Tegel Airport will close down for a two-month period starting of June 15. Tegel was one of the last of a dying breed: a veteran city airport, battered and forever unbeaten. Instead, like the city it serves, it has a shabby charm and a good heart. Berlin's Tegel Airport opened in 1948 and is closing Sunday as a new international hub opens after a series of delays. The latest on Tegel Airport: Tegel Airport: Sixty Years Later, the Last Flight is Gone (November 8th, 2020). Since there were hardly any passengers during the first months of the Corona crisis, Tegel was supposed to be shut down on June 15th, 2020. 2008. Tegel Airport closes with the departure of the last scheduled flight number AF 1235 at 15:00. Soon, Berlin will have two former airports, Tempelhof and Tegel, the hexagon design of which was and still is revolutionary. A gateway to Berlin for US Presidents and popstars, Tegel has cemented its place in the city's history. The room Tegel provided was needed when Germans started flying to tourist destinations in Europe again. Worried About Corona Mutation, Prepares to ‘Fight Battles’ Against Virus, Berlin’s ‘Tierpark’: The Only Place to Go During the Corona Lockdown, Merkel: ‘Corona Mutation Confirmed in Germany, but Not Dominant Yet’, Germany: Seven Day Incidence Number Drops to Eleven-Week Low, Germany: Government Politicians React to Joe Biden’s Inauguration. The striking design shortened walking distances to as short as 30 meters from aircraft to the terminal exit. It was congested, tired and outdated. If they get their way, it will likely be shut down for good. During the 19th century, it was used as an artillery firing range. "It is this personal touch that made all the difference. The city’s historic Cold War-era airport, Tegel (TXL), shut its doors for good with a final Air France departure at 3 p.m. local time. Berlin, May 20th, 2020, updated on October 12th, 2020 (The Berlin Spectator) — When the Soviets tried to starve the inhabitants of the city’s Western sectors with their Berlin Blockade, the Western Allies commenced with the Berlin Air Lift. But FBB, the operator of all major airports in Berlin and Brandenburg, is hoping BER Airport will change things in this regard, when everything is back to normal. All airline passengers from Berlin will have to go to BER Airport in Brandenburg. Air France, the airline that operated the first regular flight to and from Tegel will also be the last one to fly people out of there. "I could only ever leave through Tegel, as I would have been arrested if I tried to cross the GDR via land," Bukowiecki tells CNN Travel. Eventually it was shuffled off to a far-flung corner of the airfield, occasionally being used for evacuation training. Tegel Airport is scheduled to close for good on November 8, 2020. On October 8, 2020, Air France operated flight AF1235, with the Airbus A320-200 F-GKXP from Berlin-Tegel Airport (TXL) towards Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG). However, it is scheduled to close shortly after the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport next year. Berlin closed its Tegel airport, beloved by some and reviled by others, as it shifts all air traffic to a new hub on the outskirts of the city. The idea was that: Travel demand is way down due to the pandemic. For two months, Tegel Airport was not really needed anymore. Air France (AF) will operate the airport’s final flight on November 8, 2020, with an Airbus A319. However, depending on how the situation in the aviation industry pans out, this could still change. Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer did not want to lose Tegel because it accommodated part of the government’s and the Federal President’s official air fleet. AF1235 is scheduled to depart TXL at 3:00 pm local time to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). The city's special status during the Cold War meant that only the Allies could operate military and civilian aircraft from and to Tegel. Berliners voted to keep the historic Tegel airport open even after a new international hub is completed, creating a headache for the German capital's government, which wanted it closed. It was precisely Air France airline that started commercial operations at Berlin’s airport, on January 2, 1960. Closing for good: Five things to know about Berlin's Tegel airport Saturday 7 November 2020 - 10:46am Berlin's Tegel airport is being put into retirement to … On the 1st of June, Berlin’s Tegel may close its doors, and runways, for two months. All passengers had to use the airport's original small prefabricated terminal building. In the late 1950s, with increased air traffic coming into West Berlin in ever bigger planes, the runways at Tempelhof were proving too short, so over the next two decades Tegel became the main airport. Tegel Airport is closing on June 15th; Schönefeld Airport, the low cost airport, will remain open and become the new “Terminal 5 of…” BER Airport. That role has meant it's seen the US President's Air Force One landing here more often than any other airport in Germany. The German capital’s most important airport will be “temporarily” closed to reduce the losses of the operating business. In the next few years things really took off for Tegel. Berlin's airports were never just means of transport, never just faceless terminals in the middle of a field. Germany: North Stream 2 Pipeline Might Go Down the Tubes, Made in Germany: The Top 10 Most Interesting Movies, Berlin’s ‘Tierpark’: The Only Place to Go…, Kool & the Gang to Deliver the Funk to Germany in…. The most famous, Tempelhof, was opened in 1927, and sealed its place in aviation history during the Berlin airlift of 1948-49 when the city was blockaded by the Soviet Union. Tegel was supposed to be closed in 2012. Berlin Tegel Airport, which was closed after serving for seven decades on November 8, 2020, will be re-opened in mid-December 2020 as a vaccination center against the COVID-19 pandemic, announced the government of Germany. Lufthansa was banned from Berlin until the reunification in 1990. As Brandenburg cranks into action, Berlin's Tegel Airport -- a much-loved relic from the last century -- on Sunday, at long last, was closing for good. Tegel closure. There was no direct public transport connection either. In Germany it only happens every decades that an airport is opened or closed. On Sunday, November 8th, Berlin Tegel airport finally closed after 60 years of operations. The rental operators’ offices are located on the E level of the Berlin Tegel Airport (ground floor) and are open from 7 am to 11 pm. Berliners voted to keep the historic Tegel airport open even after a new international hub is completed, creating a headache for the German capital's government, which wanted it closed. Once the final flight leaves it in early November, Tegel Airport will not just rot and fall apart. Tegel was seen as a "a gateway to freedom" for some people fleeing Soviet oppression. Now, a large ‘welcome’ sign still hanging over its entrance will get an entirely new meaning as Tegel's Terminal C is about to become one of Berlin's six coronavirus vaccination hubs. Berlin's weary Tegel Airport should've closed years ago, but despite being cramped and outdated, it survived repeated attempts to kill it off. Instead, we were able to drop our guests off directly at their gate. After World War II, when West Berlin was still in the hands of allied forces, there were plans to turn the area into allotments, but Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had different plans. After the blockade ended six months later, Tegel became the Berlin base of the French Air Force. Travel time can take up to 50 minutes with normal traffic. Like so many other things in the city, Tegel Airport is a stopgap measure that somehow became permanent. All airlines flying from TXL for the last time bid a fitting farewell with a traditional water fountain from the airport fire brigade. Its character shows through in the quirky parts of the airport unrelated to flight operations. Even Schönefeld had better rail connections. Tegel Airport is scheduled to close for good on November 8, 2020. Another way to get from Berlin Tegel airport to Postdam is car rental at the airport. It will be taken after Easter. GERMANY – Tegel International Airport in Berlin, a place steeped in history, closed for good this Sunday, November 8 after the take-off of a last Air France flight, a week after the finally successful kickoff of its replacement to the south -is the capital. Tegel’s airport has been one of the main airports of Berlin for years now. It could have been a final closure because of Tegel’s fixed shutdown on November 8th. At 2:30 p.m., only nine flights were announced for the rest of the day. Berlin Tegel Airport was supposed to close on June 15. And don’t forget to turn off the lights. Now it might be shut down a lot earlier. While the recent opening of Berlin's long-delayed Brandenburg Airport will have caused many in the city to breathe a sigh of relief, it also means the sad end of an era. But because the new BER Airport was delayed, the operator FBB needed to postpone the closure a million times. It is the only major airport I know where you can see the check-in counter from the curb and the airplane from the check-in counter.". A Douglas C-54 loaded with food touched down on November 5th, 1948. "The airport is tiny, especially when compared to other major capitals around the globe. The closure was confirmed following years of delays to the opening of the new airport to the south of the city, Brandenburg Airport , which would emerge as the one main airport serving the city. "But I had been so immersed in my work that I did not hear a thing.". The Airbus of the French airline Air France takes off from Tegel Airport (TXL) to Paris, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. But then, in late spring, the Corona situation improved to some extent. Then, in September of 2020, things turned south when Corona infection numbers skyrocketed again. "This design might not be efficient to operate, but it is a traveler's dream of short waiting times and short distances. The Airbus of the French airline Air France takes off from Tegel Airport (TXL) to Paris, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. Personally, I won't be missing Tegel, except perhaps from a nostalgic aspect.". Tegel has earned a place in history thanks to its role in serving the former West Berlin during the years when the city was divided. He also lived in Mexico and Bulgaria. That is because the airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf were designed to be West Germany’s major hubs during the Cold War, when West Berlin was surrounded by the GDR. Even though the neighbors will be relieved, the one thing that I'll miss about Tegel the most is the direct, loud and smelly experience of travel. "To me and many other West Berliners, Tegel really was a place apart," Bukowiecki adds. > Tegel Airport was supposed to be closed for good on November 8th, 2020, and converted into some kind of industrial complex. Whatever happens to aviation, it will be without Tegel. As recently as last week, the plan was for Berlin Tegel Airport to close as of June 15, 2020. An old Boeing 707 that was presented as a gift to Lufthansa sits at the end of the runway. Berlin's venerable Tegel airport hosted its final flight on Sunday, a Paris-bound Air France plane that left to cheers and a fountain salute from the terminal's fire engines. In 2017, the public were asked whether they wanted Berlin Tegel Airport to remain open. However, in 2017 Berliners voted to keep this airport open, in a referendum, but authorities emphasized that it would be closed in 2020. There was something genuinely appealing about waiting at the bus stop on Kurt-Schumacher-Platz near the kebab stands and Chinese restaurants and watching the planes roar in just 50 meters overhead on their final approach to the airport. Eight of them were domestic, one went to Helsinki. Tegel was scheduled to close early because of the pandemic, but still came back for more. © 2021 - The Berlin Spectator. Real estate developers and architects are ready to reinvent the airport: There are plans to develop the site into a so-called "Urban Tech Republic," a high tech business hub that could provide 18,000 jobs. Then the government gave in. Berlin’s Tegel Airport (IATA: TXL) will close on June 15, four months earlier than planned, after the city’s government decided to shut down operations due to the lack of demand resulting from the Covid-19 crisis. It was projected to handle nearly 2.5 million passengers a year, but the latter welcomed over 20 million travellers. But Tegel's car-friendly design endeared the airport to many, especially in the Berlin hospitality sector. Berlin Tegel Airport is the larger of the two Berlin airports currently in operation. All Rights Reserved. "Even the overpriced Currywurst stall outside the terminal, made to look like an S-Bahn carriage, to me symbolizes the airport's charming crappiness.". Whatever its fate, the airport's place in the story of Berlin will forever cement its status as "the" city airport, particularly, as British writer and Berlin expert Paul Sullivan points out, thanks to its role in recent pop culture. Schönefeld on the south-eastern city border in Brandenburg is smaller, with a good eleven million passengers. Schönefeld really is so far away from the city center. Select from premium Tegel Airport To Close In 2012 of the highest quality. As no German pilots or carriers were permitted to fly into Tegel at the time, the plane was covered with white stickers and delivered by an American crew at night, to be revealed in Lufthansa colors the next day. Imanuel Marcus is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Berlin Spectator. But now the signs are Tegel will close … Tilman Hierath is the managing partner of the Circus Hotel on Rosenthaler Platz as well as an enthusiastic hobby pilot and loves to use the airport. Distance and aircraft type by airline for flights from Tegel Airport to O'Hare International Airport. Berlin Tegel airport officially closed to commercial flights. Select from premium Tegel Airport To Close In 2012 of the highest quality. > Schönefeld Airport will become Terminal 5 of BER Airport. On the day these photos were shot, May 20th, 2020, Tegel Airport was a sorry sight. It is understood that this move will save airport operator FBB around US$220,000 per day, amounting to US$12.3m over that eight week period. "I think that over the decades the airport's modest dimensions and aesthetic and the fact that many celebrities like David Bowie and Ronald Reagan used it to enter West Berlin really created a lot of affection in Berliners," he says. A number of travellers, myself included, had hoped Berlin Tegel airport would remain open after the long-delayed Brandenburg opens at the end of October. In the late 1980s, West Berlin’s Senate prevented the erection of a second terminal up there. As a result of the crisis, the Berlin Brandenburg Airport Company has to contend with a loss of income in the three-digit million range. How many evening flights are currently on sale from O'Hare International Airport to Tegel Airport? The airport continued to make an impression on Berliners, especially after a new, mildly brutalist and hexagonally shaped terminal building was opened in 1974. The first plane, a USAF Douglas C-54, landed in November 1948. Berlin's long standing Tegel Airport that served as one of the gateways to the city for 60 years was permanently shut down in early November. Danke Tegel: End of an Era for Long-Time Berlin Airport. A flight conducted from the Air France company, on November 8, in the Berlin Tegel “Otto Lilienthal” airport, was the last one to be conducted, as the airport closed its doors forever after 60 years of operating. When Berlin Brandenburg Airport goes into operation, Tegel Airport will finally close. Even efforts to permanently close the airport earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic failed. Car rental at Berlin Tegel Airport is offered by the following companies: Avis, Europcar, Sixt. Destination ORD O'Hare International Airport. The remaining area will be available for industrial use, the largest single inner-city development area in contemporary Berlin. Berlin and Brandenburg want to close Tegel Airport now because it is not needed in the crisis. Despite these cramped conditions and restrictions, for some the airport truly was a gateway to freedom. The number of passengers across both Tegel and Schönefeld is now said to stand at just 1% of regular traffic – an environment in which Berlin's airport owner FBB reportedly sees " a deficit of one million Euros per day." Retired journalist Jutta Hertlein remembers the excitement of her neighbors when the new terminal started its operations. Flight number 1235 to Paris is scheduled to take off at 3:00 p.m. on November 8th. Then, in March of 2020, Corona hit and turned aviation into chopped liver. After Germany’s reunification, Lufthansa was finally allowed to fly to – and take off from – Tegel as well. Additionally, houses are to be built and parks and woodland created. Berlin’s Tegel Airport (IATA: TXL) will close on June 15, four months earlier than planned, after the city’s government decided to shut down operations due to the lack of demand resulting from the Covid-19 crisis. LONDON – Berlin Tegel Airport is set to close on June 15 for around two months due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.. Due to restrictions with regards to flying, passenger numbers have declined to the point that this decision was inevitably made. Closing for good: Five things to know about Berlin's Tegel airport Saturday 7 November 2020 - 10:46am Berlin's Tegel airport is being put into retirement to … Following the final departure, there was a small closing ceremony. The first flight landed and took off on January 2nd of that year. There's a perfect beach for every week of the year. 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Reunification also meant that passenger numbers and flights increased exponentially as air travel became more and more commonplace. For that reason, all charter flights were moved to Tegel Airport. The airport itself is due to be confined to history on November 8 when the final scheduled flight to leave Tegel will be -- fittingly -- an Air France service to Paris. Due to restrictions with regards to flying, passenger numbers have declined to the point that this decision was inevitably made. 60 years after being the first to land, Air France was the last to depart. Now closed, it's been transformed into a park and sought-after location for World War II movies. Tegel’s hexagon-shaped terminal was completed in the 1970s when Berlin was an island in a sea of communism. Tegel managed to evade death one last time. Origin TXL Tegel Airport. A research and industry park with green future technologies is to be established here. "And even after reunification, with air travel becoming available widely, that view did not change. For her, the airport became the only means of escaping a city surrounded by communism. As the blockade he ordered began in June 1948, it turned out quickly that there was need for an additional airfield to bring supplies in, so the French authorities in charge of the Tegel district ordered the construction of a 2,500-meter-long runway -- the longest in Europe at the time. But Brandenburg's decade of delays kept it alive as a stand-in, and for all its faults, it had many admirers. With German reunification in 1990 and the government moving from Bonn to Berlin, all restrictions on Berlin air traffic were lifted and Tegel became the official German government airport. Tegel Airport will close on June 15. and Germany Relieved About Transition of Power in U.S. Berlin: Digital Green Week Food Trade Fair Commences Today. Berlin Tegel airport officially closed to commercial flights. AF1235 is scheduled to depart TXL at 3:00 pm local time to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). "He needed to be in a very important meeting at our hotel and also needed to catch his flight that afternoon. “ I'm madly in love with its '70s ugliness. ‘Goodbye Tegel’: The End of Berlin’s Last Airport, An Airport for Skaters, Cyclists and Dogs, No Inauguration Party for BER Airport Because of Embarrassing Delay, the 35 millionth passenger of the year was drowned in prizes, Berlin: Health Authority Closes Clinic Because of Corona Mutation Cases, Germany: Kretschmer Calls for End of Corona Lockdown in Mid-February, E.U. The opening in late October 2020 of Berlin’s long awaited new airport – almost a decade late – marks the end of an era for Tegel. "You had to make sure you didn't line up in the wrong queue at the check-in counters as it was often confusing where each one led to. While a new third terminal was added in 2007, Tegel became increasingly cramped, with operations and facilities clearly outdated. So our front desk actually called Tegel and they held the gate open for our guest. On September 1, 1975, Pan Am and British Airways moved their entire Berlin operation here overnight. Tegel was designed for handling 2.5 million passengers a year, but 24 million people flew from here in 2019. "So Tegel truly became my gateway to the world, also because I took a plane for the first time in my life from here.". Originally from Hamburg, he used to be a war reporter in Bosnia and Croatia, and a U.S. correspondent for German and Swiss radio stations in Washington D.C.. In truth, Tegel should've been decommissioned years ago. At the end of the runway sits an old Boeing 707, originally operated by El Al, that was once the target on an attempt by Palestinian terrorists to hijack it in 1970. When Berlin Brandenburg Airport goes into operation, Tegel Airport will finally close. The honour of the final flight went to Air France, who operated its scheduled service to Paris shortly before the runways closed at 18:00. "Many Tegel regulars rave about its proximity to the city center, which makes for a quick transfer into town -- unless you were using public transport. MIAMI – Berlin-Tegel Airport (TXL) will officially close its doors this fall. Berlin mayor Michael Müller told public broadcaster rbb that “it makes no sense to keep two facilities open” in the midst of the crisis. Find the perfect Tegel Airport To Close In 2012 stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. As the set date for reopening approaches, the shareholders will make the decision whether to reopen the airport or whether to keep it closed. All airline passengers from Berlin will have to go to BER Airport in Brandenburg. You cannot print contents of this website. In summer, things improved when thousands of Germans flew to Spain and other vacation spots. The final departure from Berlin Tegel Airport occurred on Sunday, November 8th, at 3 pm. Interesting Facts About Flights from Berlin to Chicago (TXL to ORD) ... Read more close. Distance 4,400.32 miles. Tempelhof Airport closed in 2008 and is now a park. Merci beaucoup. The area of today's airport originally was part of the Jungfernheide forest, which served as a hunting ground for the Prussian nobility. When the cab drivers went on strike a few years back, I rented a van and drove our guests from the hotel to the airport. On Sunday, November 8, 2020, Berlin-Tegel Airport was closed. Berlin's Tegel airport, which is close to the city centre, was the fourth largest German airport after Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf with more than 24 million passengers last year. On December 20th, the 35 millionth passenger of the year was drowned in prizes. At the other end of Tegel is the small but quirky. 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