Tegel Airport has long been a landmark in West Berlin.

Situated in the former French sector, it was used during the 1948 airlift, even if we tend to remember more Tempelhof in the US sector. On this occasion, its runway was extended, making it the longest in Europe.

In the 1960s, the Tempelhof runway became too short for the new generations of aircraft, including the Caravelle, the super constellations … and the companies of the allied forces, the only ones able to land in Berlin at the time, began to develop their activities in Tegel.

Its current buildings date from the early 1970s, with an abundance of concrete and hexagonal shapes. A fine example of the architecture of the time, not the most suitable for today’s travel conditions with its numerous security checks.

The airport has been closed to commercial service since the beginning of November 2020. These photos date from early June, in the middle of a period of travel restrictions, when an announcement suggested that it would be closed for good before the summer.

What I like in these photos: the emptiness, the absence of passengers and visitors prefiguring a definitive abandonment of the place.

The senate of Berlin has ambitious plans for this site, let’s come back in a few years to see how it evolves.

To find Tegel: https://goo.gl/maps/b4adwZ8Lz482qjiK6