Published: November 14, 2019
Recently Berlin's downtown Tegel Airport was permanently closed for traffic after 60 years of commercial service. Today, we look back at the history of this illustrious airport, with a focus on its iconic early Jet-Age terminal
I want to give a special thanks to Sezen Marie Dursun of GMP Architects as well as the press team of Berlin Brandenburg Airport for their kind assistance in the preparation of this article.
I want to give a special thanks to Sezen Marie Dursun of GMP Architects as well as the press team of Berlin Brandenburg Airport for their kind assistance in the preparation of this article.
The early years (1948-1965)
BEGINNINGS OF AN ICONIC AIRPORT
Between 1948 and 1989, when West Berlin was a Western-controlled enclave behind the Iron Curtain, Tegel Airport together with its illustrious neighbor Tempelhof, provided the city a critical lifeline to the West.
Between 1948 and 1989, when West Berlin was a Western-controlled enclave behind the Iron Curtain, Tegel Airport together with its illustrious neighbor Tempelhof, provided the city a critical lifeline to the West.
During the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948, the French occupying power, together with US specialists and German workers, set up a new airfield in 90 days to support the Berlin Airlift. On August 5, 1948, six weeks after the start of the blockade, the construction of what was then Europe's longest runway with a length of 7,966 feet (2,428 meters) began on the site in Tegel. After the end of the Airlift, a second runway was added.
Aviation was not new to the area. Previously, the area had housed an airship hangar and later on functioned as a rocket firing range, where no other then the illustrious Werner von Braun conducted experiments with liquid-powered rockets and missiles.
After the end of the Second World War, the Tegel site was littered with bomb craters from allied air raids and the buildings standing there were largely destroyed. Even today, duds and remains of ammunition are still buried in the ground.
Aviation was not new to the area. Previously, the area had housed an airship hangar and later on functioned as a rocket firing range, where no other then the illustrious Werner von Braun conducted experiments with liquid-powered rockets and missiles.
After the end of the Second World War, the Tegel site was littered with bomb craters from allied air raids and the buildings standing there were largely destroyed. Even today, duds and remains of ammunition are still buried in the ground.
November 5, 1948: A music corps welcomes the first flight, a US Military Douglas C-54. The airport was officially opened at the beginning of that December. The flight operations took place largely with American and British aircraft, since the French Air Force did not have a sufficient number of transport aircraft and were also tied up in the Indochina War.
A 1965 overview of the facilities, which were a set of simple structures, located on the northside of the airport. On January 2, 1960, Air France became the first airline to commence regular commercial operations at Tegel, using a Lockheed L-1049 Constellation. A few weeks later the airline introduced the Sud-Aviation Caravelle, the French flag carrier's new short-haul jet.
Air France, which had served Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg and its main base at Paris Le Bourget/Orly during the previous decade from Tempelhof, shifted its entire Berlin operation to Tegel because Tempelhof's runways were too short to permit the introduction of the Caravelle. The airline's Caravelle IIIs lacked thrust reversers that would have permitted them to land safely on Tempelhof's short runways with a full commercial payload.
Following the move to Tegel, Air France initially used Lockheed Super Constellation piston equipment on all Berlin flights. On February 24, 1960, Air France became the first airline to introduce jet aircraft on its Berlin routes when the new Caravelles began replacing the Super Constellations.
Due to its occupied status, only allied airlines were allowed to fly in Berlin, with Air France being the third allied airline to fly to West Berlin as of the January 5, 1950, following American Overseas Airline (AOA, later Pan Am) and British European Airways (BEA, later British Airways). Together with AOA and BEA, Air France was granted the role of connecting West Berliners with the western world without any elaborate checkpoint control from 1950.
Air France, which had served Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg and its main base at Paris Le Bourget/Orly during the previous decade from Tempelhof, shifted its entire Berlin operation to Tegel because Tempelhof's runways were too short to permit the introduction of the Caravelle. The airline's Caravelle IIIs lacked thrust reversers that would have permitted them to land safely on Tempelhof's short runways with a full commercial payload.
Following the move to Tegel, Air France initially used Lockheed Super Constellation piston equipment on all Berlin flights. On February 24, 1960, Air France became the first airline to introduce jet aircraft on its Berlin routes when the new Caravelles began replacing the Super Constellations.
Due to its occupied status, only allied airlines were allowed to fly in Berlin, with Air France being the third allied airline to fly to West Berlin as of the January 5, 1950, following American Overseas Airline (AOA, later Pan Am) and British European Airways (BEA, later British Airways). Together with AOA and BEA, Air France was granted the role of connecting West Berliners with the western world without any elaborate checkpoint control from 1950.
Pan Am followed Air France into Tegel in May 1964, with a year-round, thrice-weekly direct service to New York JFK, which was operated with Boeing 707s or Douglas DC-8s. These aircraft could not operate from Tempelhof--the airline's West Berlin base at the time--with a viable payload of . Launched with DC-8 aircraft routing through Glasgow Prestwick in Scotland, Tegel frequency then increased to four flights a week, while the intermediate stop was cut out.
Following the introduction in April 1971 of a daily Berlin Tempelhof–Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel–London–Heathrow 727 feeder flight that connected with the airline's transatlantic services at Heathrow, Pan Am withdrew its non-stop Tegel–JFK service at the end of the summer timetable, in October of that year.
From April 1968 onwards, all charter airlines moved from Tempelhof to Tegel because Tempelhof was overloaded and could no longer handle the passenger volume. A special terminal was built for the charter airlines, which like the original airport was located north of the runway. Little by little, more airlines followed to Tegel, including Channel Airways , Dan-Air , Laker Airways and Modern Air , which also stationed their aircraft at the airport.
Following the introduction in April 1971 of a daily Berlin Tempelhof–Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel–London–Heathrow 727 feeder flight that connected with the airline's transatlantic services at Heathrow, Pan Am withdrew its non-stop Tegel–JFK service at the end of the summer timetable, in October of that year.
From April 1968 onwards, all charter airlines moved from Tempelhof to Tegel because Tempelhof was overloaded and could no longer handle the passenger volume. A special terminal was built for the charter airlines, which like the original airport was located north of the runway. Little by little, more airlines followed to Tegel, including Channel Airways , Dan-Air , Laker Airways and Modern Air , which also stationed their aircraft at the airport.
A Jet-Age terminal for Tegel
In 1965, a design competition was organized to design a new modern terminal for Tegel south of the airport. 18 prominent architects, construction officials, aviation experts and airport directors examined 68 models that had been submitted by domestic and foreign architects, both established and young.
Although terminals with linear gate concourses were already becoming the norm, the jury chose a very unconventional design prepared by Hamburg architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp). The design featured a hexagonally-shaped terminal, which was overlooked by an adjoining control tower and administration building.
The outside of the terminal boasted 14 aircraft stands served by boarding bridges. The inside of the two-level structure contained circulation roads, drop-off and pick-up curbs and short-term parking. This design allowed vehicles to drop off passengers a mere 30 meters (98 feet) from the gate. This arguably makes Tegel the first large-scale, "drive-in" airport design, predating that of airports such as Dallas and Kansas City, even though these airports would open earlier than Tegel.
The terminal had a processing capacity of 2,500 passengers per hour, which depending on how flights were distributed over the day, could generate an annual capacity of 5 to 7.5 million passengers per year.
Although terminals with linear gate concourses were already becoming the norm, the jury chose a very unconventional design prepared by Hamburg architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp). The design featured a hexagonally-shaped terminal, which was overlooked by an adjoining control tower and administration building.
The outside of the terminal boasted 14 aircraft stands served by boarding bridges. The inside of the two-level structure contained circulation roads, drop-off and pick-up curbs and short-term parking. This design allowed vehicles to drop off passengers a mere 30 meters (98 feet) from the gate. This arguably makes Tegel the first large-scale, "drive-in" airport design, predating that of airports such as Dallas and Kansas City, even though these airports would open earlier than Tegel.
The terminal had a processing capacity of 2,500 passengers per hour, which depending on how flights were distributed over the day, could generate an annual capacity of 5 to 7.5 million passengers per year.
A 1965 model of the future Tegel Airport. The original design featured a multi-level parking structure in the middle, connected to the terminal by means of elevated pedestrian corridors. This was finally scrapped out of the design.
The original plan envisaged the construction of a second identical terminal east of the original terminal, which would effectively double the capacity to 15 million annual passengers. This level of traffic was initially projected be reached at the end of the 20 century.
The second terminal never ended up being built due to municipal budget constraints and the fact that after the reunification of Germany the decision was taken to build a new large airport for the Berlin region.
The second terminal never ended up being built due to municipal budget constraints and the fact that after the reunification of Germany the decision was taken to build a new large airport for the Berlin region.
How the future might have been different: two designs that won the second prize in the design contest featured short piers radiating out from a central terminal.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new terminal took place in 1969, with construction commencing in 1970. The image above was taken in 1972, the same year in which the topping-out ceremony took place.
At the same time, the runways were lengthened to allow fully laden wide-bodied aircraft to take off and land without restricting their range. There was also construction of a motorway and access road linking the new terminal to the city center, as well as the construction of hangars, cargo facilities, a fuel farm and other support facilities.
At the same time, the runways were lengthened to allow fully laden wide-bodied aircraft to take off and land without restricting their range. There was also construction of a motorway and access road linking the new terminal to the city center, as well as the construction of hangars, cargo facilities, a fuel farm and other support facilities.
An aerial view of the completed terminal building taken in the summer of 1974, a few months before opening. The terminal boasted a total of 14 gates served by boarding bridges. The bridges on positions 1 and 2 as well as 13 and 14 could move in all directions. This would allow large aircraft to parallel park in front of the terminal and a bridges to be connected to the front and aft door of the aircraft, a regular practice at airports well into the 1970s.
This was later changed to wide-body aircraft parking nose in and bridges being connected to the front doors on both the left and right side of the aircraft, a very rare practice, which only lasted for a few years. Other airports that had a gates on both sides were Frankfurt, the TWA Flight Center and American's terminal at LAX. Do you know of any other examples, let us know in the comments below! [I feel these details are overkill].
This was later changed to wide-body aircraft parking nose in and bridges being connected to the front doors on both the left and right side of the aircraft, a very rare practice, which only lasted for a few years. Other airports that had a gates on both sides were Frankfurt, the TWA Flight Center and American's terminal at LAX. Do you know of any other examples, let us know in the comments below! [I feel these details are overkill].
The new Tegel opens for business
The new terminal building, was inaugurated on October 23, 1974 and opened on November 1, 1974. The four largest wide-body aircraft in the world at the time were flown in for an appearance: a British Airways Lockheed L-1011, a Laker Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-10, a Pan Am Boeing 747-100 and an Air France Airbus A300.
When the terminal opened, facilities north of the runway were closed to civil traffic. The costs for the new buildings amounted to 430 million marks, which amounts to EUR 1.1 billion or USD 1.3 billion in 2020 prices. Pretty reasonable, especially compared to the price tag of Berlin new airport's USD 7 billion!
When the terminal opened, facilities north of the runway were closed to civil traffic. The costs for the new buildings amounted to 430 million marks, which amounts to EUR 1.1 billion or USD 1.3 billion in 2020 prices. Pretty reasonable, especially compared to the price tag of Berlin new airport's USD 7 billion!
A 1976 airside view of the terminal. An Air France Sud Aviation Caravelle is parked at the gate. Later in the 1970s, the airline standardized the aircraft equipment on the 727-200. Despite having rights to operate to all German cities, Air France only operated flights to Düsseldorf, through which the carrier routed its three daily flights to Paris de Gaulle Airport.
A late 1970s view of the airport information board located at the airport entrance. I know people will want to read the airline names so you can click this to make it large!
A 1979 aerial of the terminal building. Two Pan Am 727s are parked at the gate as well as British Airways BAC One-Eleven. At the time, Pan Am operated flights to all major cities in West Germany called the Internal German Service (IGS). From the start of the 1974–75 winter season, Pan Am also flew charter flights to destinations in the Alpine region and the Mediterranean. In September 1975, the airline moved all its flights from Tempelhof to Tegel.
Views of the inside of the hexagon. The area provided a total of 1,300 parking spaces as well as space for a taxi-line up. Long term parking was provided outside the terminal complex, flanking the approach roads. As traffic grew, the approach roads and curbs became extremely congested at times.
A 1979 view of the main lobby, which contained shops, restaurants, information, ticketing and travel agency desks. German airports were quite advanced for the time in that they contained extensive landside commercial facilities. [such as...for those not in aviation]
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A 1978 view of one of the check-in areas in the hexagon. Each gate was a self-contained unit, with its own check-in, security and holding lounge. A disadvantage of the design was that once through security passengers had no option to shop or eat.
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Morning departures during a typical day in 1978.
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A 1997 image of a Pan Am Boeing 727-100 crosses the taxiway bridge over the approach roads. From late 1979, Pan Am began updating its Berlin fleet, by replacing the 727-100s with Boeing 727-200s.
The expanded Tegel Airport also included other impressive facilities such as this 97,000-square-foot (9000-square-meter) hangar, which could house aircraft up to 747 size.
Aeroamerica, Inc. was founded as a US supplemental carrier in 1973. It was headquartered at Seattle Boeing Field, Washington. In 1975 the airline established an overseas base at Tegel Airport, which became its main operating base until 1979. The carrier flew short- and medium-haul inclusive tour (IT) charter flights to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. Aeroamerica ceased operations in 1982.
Aeroamerica, Inc. was founded as a US supplemental carrier in 1973. It was headquartered at Seattle Boeing Field, Washington. In 1975 the airline established an overseas base at Tegel Airport, which became its main operating base until 1979. The carrier flew short- and medium-haul inclusive tour (IT) charter flights to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. Aeroamerica ceased operations in 1982.
The 1980s
Despite the threat of terrorism, German airports have traditionally made generous provisions for aviation enthusiasts, with many airports providing observation decks. Pictured here is Tegel's roof terrace, photographed in the summer of 1983.
British Airways was the last of West Berlin's three main scheduled carriers to commence regular operations from Tegel following the move from Tempelhof on September 1, 1975. Like Pan Am it operated scheduled flights to West Germany, directly competing with Pan Am on many routes. Like Pan Am, it and its predecessor BEA had used the airport as a diversion airfield before.
British Airways was the last of West Berlin's three main scheduled carriers to commence regular operations from Tegel following the move from Tempelhof on September 1, 1975. Like Pan Am it operated scheduled flights to West Germany, directly competing with Pan Am on many routes. Like Pan Am, it and its predecessor BEA had used the airport as a diversion airfield before.
This 1986 image shows an Air Berlin 737-400, the airline's only aircraft at the time. Originally registered as Air Berlin USA, the company was founded in 1978 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Lelco, an American agricultural enterprise headquartered in Oregon. It would operate charter flights on behalf of German tour operators from Berlin Tegel Airport, mostly to Mediterranean holiday resorts.
Following German reunification, Air Berlin was sold and became a German company in 1991. It would become the second largest airline in Germany after Lufthansa, with major hubs at Tegel and Düsseldorf. After years of losses, Air Berlin filed for insolvency on 15 August 2017 and ceased operations on 27 October 2017.
Following German reunification, Air Berlin was sold and became a German company in 1991. It would become the second largest airline in Germany after Lufthansa, with major hubs at Tegel and Düsseldorf. After years of losses, Air Berlin filed for insolvency on 15 August 2017 and ceased operations on 27 October 2017.
A 1987 ramp image. If you didn't know (airport) history, you would never guessed this image was taken at a German airport!
In 1987, Boeing bought a Boeing 707 which had once belonged to Lufthansa and donated it to West Berlin as part of the city’s 750th birthday celebrations that year. Boeing had the 707 painted in the 1960s Lufthansa livery to thank the airline for buying its 200th Boeing plane around the same time.
However, at the time, no German airline or even a German pilot could fly into West Berlin so the plane’s new colors were covered with white stickers and delivered by an American crew at night. By the morning, the stickers were pulled off and Tegel passengers were amazed to see a Lufthansa 707 sitting on the tarmac. Initially, the plane was parked next to the airport's long-term parking, but was moved away in 1991. It has been moved several times since.
However, at the time, no German airline or even a German pilot could fly into West Berlin so the plane’s new colors were covered with white stickers and delivered by an American crew at night. By the morning, the stickers were pulled off and Tegel passengers were amazed to see a Lufthansa 707 sitting on the tarmac. Initially, the plane was parked next to the airport's long-term parking, but was moved away in 1991. It has been moved several times since.
Pan Am began introducing wide-body aircraft on its Berlin routes in the mid-1980s. Up to four Airbus A300s replaced 727-200s on Berlin–Frankfurt. The A300s were subsequently replaced with Airbus A310s. The longer-range A310-300s that joined Pan Am's fleet from 1987 enabled reintroduction of non-stop, daily Tegel–JFK scheduled services [too much detail]
After German reunification (1990)
Following German renification on October 3, 1990, Germany's national airline Lufthansa was allowed to operate flights to and from Berlin. The first flight landed on October 28, 1990 and was operated by a Lufthansa Airbus A310. This image was taken sometime during the early 1990s.
In order to facilitate growth, Lufthansa bought Pan Am's Internal German Service routes for USD 150 million. Pan Am continued operating its non-stop Tegel–JFK service until Delta Air Lines assumed most of Pan Am's transatlantic scheduled services in November 1991. [Detail needed?]
In the early 1990s there were high expectations that Lufthansa would develop Berlin as a new global hub. However, the airline already operated two hub-and-spoke operations out of Frankfurt and the then-new Airport. More importantly, despite being the government capital, Berlin lacked strong businesses that could sustain a long-haul network.
In order to facilitate growth, Lufthansa bought Pan Am's Internal German Service routes for USD 150 million. Pan Am continued operating its non-stop Tegel–JFK service until Delta Air Lines assumed most of Pan Am's transatlantic scheduled services in November 1991. [Detail needed?]
In the early 1990s there were high expectations that Lufthansa would develop Berlin as a new global hub. However, the airline already operated two hub-and-spoke operations out of Frankfurt and the then-new Airport. More importantly, despite being the government capital, Berlin lacked strong businesses that could sustain a long-haul network.
An aerial overview of Tegel's terminal ca. 1991, a transitional time in the airport's history. Several gates are occupied by Lufthansa. Four gates are occupied by British Airways aircraft.
In order to keep German traffic rights, in 1992, British Airways took a 49% stake in Friedrichshafen-based German regional airline Delta Air, renaming it Deutsche BA (DBA) and transferring its internal German traffic rights to the new airline. BA also replaced the commuter aircraft DBA had inherited from Delta Air with new Boeing 737-300s. In 2007, Deutsche BA was acquired by Air Berlin. [detail needed?]
In order to keep German traffic rights, in 1992, British Airways took a 49% stake in Friedrichshafen-based German regional airline Delta Air, renaming it Deutsche BA (DBA) and transferring its internal German traffic rights to the new airline. BA also replaced the commuter aircraft DBA had inherited from Delta Air with new Boeing 737-300s. In 2007, Deutsche BA was acquired by Air Berlin. [detail needed?]
An aerial image taken almost 25 years later. After German reunification in 1990 it was decided to build a new airport, replacing Tegel, Tempelhof and Schönefeld airports. "Berlin Brandenburg Airport" was originally planned open in 2011. However, the project encountered a series of successive delays due to poor construction planning, execution, management, and corruption.
As a result, the already saturated Tegel Airport had to make due with its limited capacity for another decade, to the great dismay of especially Air Berlin, which had plans to turn the Berlin Brandenburg Airport into its global hub.
In order to deal with increasing demand, Tegel was expanded with some basic extensions, which are visible in the upper left and right of the image. In 2019, the airport handled 24,227,570 passengers, more than three times the throughput the airport was designed to handle.
As a result, the already saturated Tegel Airport had to make due with its limited capacity for another decade, to the great dismay of especially Air Berlin, which had plans to turn the Berlin Brandenburg Airport into its global hub.
In order to deal with increasing demand, Tegel was expanded with some basic extensions, which are visible in the upper left and right of the image. In 2019, the airport handled 24,227,570 passengers, more than three times the throughput the airport was designed to handle.
A recent view of the terminal, whose design has held up pretty well after all these decades.
Contrary to what this recent aerial might give, Tegel was located only 10 minutes from downtown Berlin. Despite noise concerns from neighboring communities, Berliners loved the convenience that the airport offered. In a 2017 referendum, Berliners voted to keep the airport open. However, the result was rejected by the airport authority.
On October 31, 2020, the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport--named "Willy Brandt"--finally opened for traffic. A week later, on November 8, 2020, Berlin's Tegel Airport was finally closed.
On Saturday, November 7, 2020, the last scheduled flights departed from Tegel Airport. On November 8, 2020, Air France conducted the last flight from Tegel--60 years after the French flag carrier became the first civilian operator at the former military airfield. Taking off at 3:39 PM on November 8, flight AF1235 departed Berlin Tegel for Paris Charles De Gaulle closing a major chapter of Berlin’s aviation history.
On Saturday, November 7, 2020, the last scheduled flights departed from Tegel Airport. On November 8, 2020, Air France conducted the last flight from Tegel--60 years after the French flag carrier became the first civilian operator at the former military airfield. Taking off at 3:39 PM on November 8, flight AF1235 departed Berlin Tegel for Paris Charles De Gaulle closing a major chapter of Berlin’s aviation history.
On the evening of Sunday, November 8, 2020, the airport lights at Tegel were switched off.
In 2019 Tegel's terminal was classified as a historic monument. The area will be redeveloped as an industrial and research park for urban technologies, called "Berlin TXL – the Urban Tech Republic", which will be focused on the development of sustainable technologies for cities. In the central airport terminal, which is to be kept, the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin will establish the scientific core of the new technology park, with up to 2,500 students. It is envisaged that the adjoining areas will be used both for research and development and for manufacturing companies. Berlin TXL will also make 80 hectares (200 acres) available for industrial use--the largest single inner-city development area in Berlin.
We hope you enjoyed our tribute to Berlin's Tegel Airport! In the future we will be posting features on Berlin's legendary Tempelhof Airport as well as the city's new Brandenburg "Willy Brandt" Airport!
GMP Architects, the architects of Tegel's terminal have just published a magnificent book detailing the development history of this iconic terminal. The book is full great images and plans. If you love airports this is a must-have book! You can purchase from the publisher or from Amazon.