Reuters: The future of Berlin's Tempelhof airport is uncertain

Berlin - A vast area nearly as large as New York's Central Park, complemented by one of the largest buildings in the world, would likely be a desirable location in the heart of any other metropolis. In Berlin, where space is abundant and properties are relatively cheap by European standards, the enormous Tempelhof airport with its imposing terminal is likely to pose problems for city officials. From next year, it will be closed to air traffic, reports Reuters.

It seems that no one knows what to do with the outdated giant, which holds a special place in the hearts of Berliners. It was here that, in 1948 and 1949, Allied planes landed every few minutes to supply the city during the Soviet blockade.
"I can already see local residents standing in front of the fence on the day the airport closes. They will pull out their tools and take over the land," says Green Party councilor Elisabeth Ziemer about the future of the airport. "Then we will have exactly what we didn't want: illegal car racing tracks and a dog-walking area."
The question of what to do with Tempelhof airport, as even the few flights it currently operates will be redirected before the new airport opens next year, is complicated by its historical and architectural significance.
The neoclassical Tempelhof terminal, which architect Sir Norman Foster calls "the mother of all airports," was designed by Ernst Sagebiel. It was built between 1936 and 1941 by forced laborers in Hitler's favored monolithic style. The limestone building stretches 1.2 kilometers long, flanked by crescent-shaped hangars that trace the curve of the airport's runway. The terminal's roof was designed to serve as a viewing platform.
A glass canopy was modified so that planes could stop directly at the building during rain. However, modern aircraft are too large to utilize the relatively short runways.
Since the famous days of the airport at the end of the 1940s, when its runways kept the city alive, much time has passed. "It is a reminder of the Nazis, the blockade, air transport; it is also a symbol of the exit from West Berlin," says art history expert Gabi Dolff-Bonekaemper.
At the end of World War II, the half-completed airport was taken over by the American Allied forces. In 1948, Soviet leaders cut off all routes to West Berlin. They aimed to gain control over the territory administered by the Allies, surrounded by Soviet-controlled East Germans. Starting in June 1948, nearly 300,000 flights occurred, during which American, French, and British military aircraft delivered over two million tons of food, coal, candy, and other supplies to the blockaded city. Stalin lifted the blockade in 1949.
City officials are currently discussing proposals to decide what to do with Tempelhof: proposals so far include the idea of using part of the airport property for a golf course, relocating ministries to the airport building, or even creating a hotel or university. Designers have also suggested leaving the airport area untouched, making parts available for leisure activities, and protecting the remaining greenery to function as the city's "lungs" and ensure fresh air.
Local residents included in their wild proposals the idea of turning the roof of the airport building into a giant solar panel to be used for electricity generation. "It is right and important that after ten years (of discussions) we are trying to do something concrete... what comes after the airport closes, what we want to do, and how we want to use this site," says Ingeborg Junge-Reyer, responsible for Berlin's development.
The new Berlin airport is set to open in 2011 in Schönefeld, on the site of the dilapidated old East Berlin airport. It will merge three existing airports into one hub, rendering Tempelhof and its international sister Tegel obsolete.
Tempelhof is already like a relic: many of the terminal's facilities look as if they have not changed since the 1930s. Compared to current trends in Berlin, which are style-conscious, they evoke a retro feeling. An unnamed theater group is taking advantage of the timeless atmosphere of the airport and staging a play from 1978 about the hijacking of a Polish plane in the underused check-in hall.
Berlin, looking to save money, wants to close Tempelhof to stop its growing losses, which amounted to nine million euros in 2005. However, enthusiastic advocates for the airport say that traffic has increased in recent years and that the airport was an important hub for private and public flights during the World Cup. They argue that it should be further maintained so that it can be reopened, should Berlin, for example, win the bid to host the Olympic Games in 2016.
Flights from this airport mainly serve other German cities. "I can fly directly here from Friedrichshafen; it's a good direct flight," says a manager in the aviation industry who lives near the southern German Lake Constance. "It would be a shame if they closed it," states a regular Tempelhof customer. "Passengers may not appreciate it today, but in its time it was a modern airport."