W
wyliepoon
Guest
End of an era for a Nazi landmark...
Link to article
Historic Berlin airport to close
GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press
BERLIN — A German court threw out a bid Monday to prevent the closing of the capital's historic Tempelhof Airport, clearing the way for the one-time base of the Berlin airlift to close to passengers next year.
Thirteen companies that use the inner-city airport had sought to block its closing as part of plans to build a new airport hub on the edge of the capital.
The Berlin-Brandenburg administrative court rejected their complaints, arguing that acceptable alternatives were available and that the companies' rights were not being infringed upon.
During lengthy legal proceedings, the city government agreed to give the money-losing Tempelhof a one-year reprieve. It currently is scheduled to close Oct. 31, 2008.
Mayor Klaus Wowereit said the ruling “gives everyone clarity and is a fair balance of interests.â€
Berlin's airport operator, which said Tempelhof has incurred losses of $150-million (U.S.) over the past decade, expressed relief.
Still, the airport's backers may yet try to take the case to a federal court.
Tempelhof, which opened in 1923, was expanded under the Nazis into a huge horseshoe-shaped complex. Its massive terminal is one of the most prominent remaining examples of the era's architecture in Berlin.
After the Second World War left the city divided into east and west, Tempelhof became the hub of the nearly year-long U.S.-led Berlin airlift when the Soviets blockaded West Berlin in 1948.
Tempelhof – the closest of the city's three international airports to downtown Berlin – now is used only for short-hop flights with small aircraft.
While it is too small for many modern jets, its backers value its convenient location. They will now have to move operations to the former East Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport, just outside the city, or to the busy Tegel Airport in what was formerly West Berlin.
Schoenefeld will be expanded into the capital's new hub, Berlin-Brandenburg International, by 2011. Both Tempelhof and Tegel are slated to close.
The future of the Tempelhof site remains unclear. Last year, there was a proposal from a German-U.S. investment group under former Estée Lauder chief executive Fred Langhammer that would see the site turned into medical centre with a small, private airport.
Germany's BUND environment group on Monday suggested turning the grounds into a huge “Airlift Park.â€
Link to article
Historic Berlin airport to close
GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press
BERLIN — A German court threw out a bid Monday to prevent the closing of the capital's historic Tempelhof Airport, clearing the way for the one-time base of the Berlin airlift to close to passengers next year.
Thirteen companies that use the inner-city airport had sought to block its closing as part of plans to build a new airport hub on the edge of the capital.
The Berlin-Brandenburg administrative court rejected their complaints, arguing that acceptable alternatives were available and that the companies' rights were not being infringed upon.
During lengthy legal proceedings, the city government agreed to give the money-losing Tempelhof a one-year reprieve. It currently is scheduled to close Oct. 31, 2008.
Mayor Klaus Wowereit said the ruling “gives everyone clarity and is a fair balance of interests.â€
Berlin's airport operator, which said Tempelhof has incurred losses of $150-million (U.S.) over the past decade, expressed relief.
Still, the airport's backers may yet try to take the case to a federal court.
Tempelhof, which opened in 1923, was expanded under the Nazis into a huge horseshoe-shaped complex. Its massive terminal is one of the most prominent remaining examples of the era's architecture in Berlin.
After the Second World War left the city divided into east and west, Tempelhof became the hub of the nearly year-long U.S.-led Berlin airlift when the Soviets blockaded West Berlin in 1948.
Tempelhof – the closest of the city's three international airports to downtown Berlin – now is used only for short-hop flights with small aircraft.
While it is too small for many modern jets, its backers value its convenient location. They will now have to move operations to the former East Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport, just outside the city, or to the busy Tegel Airport in what was formerly West Berlin.
Schoenefeld will be expanded into the capital's new hub, Berlin-Brandenburg International, by 2011. Both Tempelhof and Tegel are slated to close.
The future of the Tempelhof site remains unclear. Last year, there was a proposal from a German-U.S. investment group under former Estée Lauder chief executive Fred Langhammer that would see the site turned into medical centre with a small, private airport.
Germany's BUND environment group on Monday suggested turning the grounds into a huge “Airlift Park.â€
