Last flight departs from Tegel Airport | Abroad

Tegel, which is eight kilometers outside of the city, was an important link between West Germany and West Berlin during the Cold War.

Berlin’s new airport is Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). That airport should have been opened nine years ago, but the first planes with passengers only landed there on Saturday. BER replaces Tegel and Tempelhof airports. The latter, built by the Nazis in the 1930s, closed in 2008.

The construction of the new airport started in 2006. It should actually open in 2011, but technical problems and other setbacks caused a significant delay. The costs also amounted to billions. Among other things, the reduction of noise nuisance, unexpected construction risks and the longer use of Tegel airport resulted in additional costs.

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