A New Journey

A bold transformation of Berlin Tempelhof airport is now taking shape, allowing visitors to take historic tours and play on its redundant runways

- By Nigel Tisdall. Photographs by Lars Schneider, Unsplash, Fotografixx, Istock, Nigel Tisdall

How many keys does it take to run an airport? In the case of Berlin Tempelhof, 44,000. That's how many keys were handed to city officials when this gargantuan complex closed in 2008. Constructed by the Nazis in 1936-41 (and never finished) it remains one of the largest buildings in the world, stretching for 1.2km with 7,266 rooms, 300 air raid shelters and 70,000 power sockets.

These are the thought-provoking stats that await on a guided tour of this richly historic airport, which pre-pandemic attracted 70,000 visitors a year. A 20-minute U-Bahn ride from the city centre, Tempelhof has a revered place in the birth of flying - US aviator Orville Wright made experimental flights here and in 1909 300,000 Berliners turned out to watch a pioneering Zeppelin cruise overhead. Deutsche Luft Hansa, the precursor of Lufthansa, started scheduled services from the airfield in 1926 and within six years was operating a global network with a fleet of 155 aircraft.