Berlin Airport Closure Sparks Public Outcry
The decision to close Berlin’s historic Templehof Airport has been met with outrage by supporters who were voted down in a referendum which took place in the city yesterday.
It’s easy to see why the airport courted such a following. Boasting a tango school, carp farm, underground war bunkers and a cabaret bar, Templehof is an airport quite unlike any other. Templehof Airport played a key role in the famous Berlin Blockade in 1948, when Soviets blocked access to West Berlin in 1948 in an attempt to starve it into submission. During the airlift, one allied aircraft landed at Tempelhof every 90 seconds. Today, the airport building is considered to be the third largest in the world after Washington’s Pentagon and Ceaucescu’s People’s Palace in Bucharest.
Commenting on the imminent closure, Andreas Peter, head of the campaign to save Templehof Airport says: “It’s the people who should say whether it closes.” The campaign even had the backing of German Chancellor Angela Merkl who said: “The continued operation of Templehof is not only of significance for the economy and jobs, it’s for many and for me personally a symbol, with the airlift, of the history of the city”, she said. Those supporting the closure suggest that city officials should be putting resources into making sure the Berlin-Brandenburg airport under constructon to the south-east of the city is a success. Under a court ruling, the new airport will only be permitted to open if historic Templehof and Tegel are shut down.
Templehof is due to close to landings and take-offs in October but city officials still aren’t sure what they’ll do with the site. Some city officials however have suggested renovating it into a museum or art gallery or turning the runways into a public park.
Written by F.H