Berlin Votes To Keep Tegel Airport

Berlin has voted to retain the city’s Tegel airport in a referendum to decide its future after the new Berlin Brandenburg airport opens.

In the referendum, which is non-binding, 56.1 percent voted to keep Tegel, while 41.7 percent voted for it to close.

The vote gives the Berlin government a problem as it wants to see the outdated airport closed and turned into a business park.

Tegel airport was built in 1948 to support the Berlin Airlift, as the city’s existing Tempelhof airport was too small. Tegel was expected to close after the new Berlin Brandenburg airport opened, but public opposition to the older airport’s closure led to Sunday’s vote.

Berlin Brandenburg was originally scheduled to open in 2011 after building started in 2006, but construction problems have delayed it several times, with no new date set for its opening. The co-located Schönefeld airport was also slated for closure, but the growth in air traffic in the German capital means it too will stay open, at least for a while.