FLUG REVUE October 2004: Tempelhof closure a mistake

BERLIN TO CLOSE TEMPELHOF AIRPORT

By Volker K. Thomalla

In all probability, an inglorious chapter in the long history of Berlin Tempelhof will be written on 31 October 2004. This is the day on which the last planes will fly into and out of Berlin's oldest and smallest airport and the airport will lose its operating licence. The rescue plans of a number of companies wanting to keep the airport in operation have been rejected by the politicians. They are bent on closing this important piece of transport infrastructure at all costs and are refusing to enter into discussions about it, regardless of how good the reasons for doing so might be. It is hard to avoid the impression that the potential for developing Tempelhof and adapting it to fit requirements really has not been given any serious attention at all. Berlin's Senate appears to have closed the Tempelhof file and consigned it to the archives.

In Berlin they are repeating an error already committed in Munich when Riem and Neubiberg were closed. Then, as appears likely now, infrastructure worth millions was simply destroyed. Messe München, the Munich fair company that built its new exhibition centre on the site of the old airport site at Riem, missed a unique opportunity to provide its visitors with a business airport. As things stand, only Friedrichshafen and Lyon have an exhibition centre with direct access to an airport.

Tempelhof is to be closed although the BBI, the planned alternative, has not yet gone into operation. While it's true that passenger numbers have been declining for years at Tempelhof, which has both a city location and its own underground station, there were still over 218,000 of them in the first six months of 2004. However, it is not just the number of passengers but also the type of passenger that has to be considered; Tempelhof has never been a holidaymakers' airport. Since German unification it has always been an airport for business travellers. And the decline in passenger numbers actually has more to do with the threat of closure than passengers' dissatisfaction with it.

Other European cities such as Stockholm and Belfast have been keen to keep their city airports or, like London, have actually built a new one at considerable cost. The merging of markets that is taking place as a result of the expansion of the European Union should not be underestimated. Businesspeople need to be able to travel fast and have flexibility. Tempelhof is the ideal business airport for Berlin and an important part of the capital's transport infrastructure. This is what is being destroyed.

When it loses Tempelhof, Berlin will lose part of its own history and an important symbol of freedom. It was at Tempelhof that most of the American planes landed during the Berlin airlift, bringing the food that was so vital to the survival of the blockaded city. Admittedly, history is a weak argument in a city like Berlin, which is basically broke. But how an institution or region treats its history is also indicative of its ability to meet the challenges of the future.

The arguments in favour of keeping Tempelhof are common knowledge and have been publicised often enough. The decision has been taken, and barring a miracle it will come into force on 31 October – with the inevitable consequences. It's a shame that it's our children and grandchildren, above all, who will have to bear the consequences in the long term.

From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 11/2004

Last updated 13 September 2004

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