LateDeparture.com » Berlin

Berlin Tegel revisted, probably for the last time

Tom — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:40:22 +0000

Berlin Tegel (IATA: TXL) is a funny airport. It’s there where according to Wikipedia, Aviation history dates back to the early 20th century, when the Prussian airship battalion was based there and the area became known as Luftschiffhafen Reinickendorf. After that a lot had happened in the area (for further details refer to your history books) until in the 1960s the current airport took shape. And what a shape it took! Tegel Airport is notable (or funny as I called it) for its hexagonal terminal building around an open square, which makes walking distances as short as 30 m (98 ft) from the aircraft to the terminal exit.

I used to call Berlin Tegel my home airport for about 2 years a decade or so ago and loved it. I also hated it. I hated it for its small size and I loved it for its small size. LateDeparture wrote a couple of times about Berlin Tegel already, but when I recently returned – after years of absence – I couldn’t resist to pull out my notebook and note down some of the new additions since.

What I first noticed was that the airport is now more clearly split into sections of gates, A to D. A is the main, hexagonal terminal, B a side annex used by Lufthansa. The C and D gates are separate buildings to either side of the main complex. So here’s what caught my eyes:

A gates & central area

Buy some Vienna style bakery delicacies from ‘Erster Wiener’
Check out the S.Oliver store (Germany’s answer to Esprit – which, by the way, also has a store in the central area)
Visit the ‘Bon Voyage’ store for books, newspapers, travel accessories, souvenir, toys and small snacks (near gate A15)
Experience Munich in Berlin by popping to the “Wiesn Grill”. You can’t go wrong with the Weisswurst, Weizenbier and Bretzen deal for €7.90

B gates

Enjoy great views towards the runways from the Tegel Terrace restaurant upstairs on level 3. You find the lifts opposite the Lufthansa check-in area
Find a last minute book from a good selection of German and English books at the ‘Pocket Shop’

C gates

Try the Marché Bakery for some fresh gourmet sandwiches or sit down at the American diner called – you probably guessed it – Cindy’s
The ‘Relay’ newsagent next door has a small but selected range of last minute Berlin souvenirs (e.g. try the Berlin Ampelmãnnchen salt and pepper dispensers). It also sells beers by the can.

D gates

The only thing worthwhile mentioning is the ‘die Es-S Bahn’ store on the way from the main building to D. It sells the famous Currywurst, which, if you haven’t already done it on your visit to German’s capital, is a must try. For €2.90 it sure is a no-brainer, even for a cheeky “top-up”.

As you can see there is no shortage of things to see, do and discover despite the smallish size of the airport. You want to be quick with your visit though as the airport is scheduled to close on 3rd June 2012, the day when the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA: BER) is set to become operational.

[Photo from Flickr - Some rights reserved by Matthias17]

2008 Top 10 Airport News

Tom — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:22:22 +0000

I am sure you agree that 2008 has been a very ~~difficult~~ eventful year. This also holds also true for the aviation industry as our selection of the top 10 news stories about airports shows:

10. London Stansted blockade

Early December environmental activists have stopped flights at London’s Stansted airport (IATA: STN) after breaking through to the runway, raising security concerns at Britain’s third-busiest airport. The protests against a further expansion of the airport caused a serious knock-on effect on the airport’s flight operations causing over 50 flights to be cancelled.

9. Opening of Beijing airport Terminal 3

On March 26, Beijing airport (IATA: PEK) opened its new Terminal 3, designed by Sir Norman Foster, after four years of construction. It is the world’s largest airport building, covering more than a million square meters, designed to accommodate an estimated 50 million passengers a year by 2020.

8. Closure of Berlin’s iconic Tempelhof airport

Open one, close one; on the October 30, Berlin’s iconic Tempelhof airport closed down for good. Originally opened in 1923, the later built airport halls and neighbouring buildings, intended to become the gateway to Europe and a symbol of Hitler’s “world capital” Germania. Read our full coverage here.

7. Kalitta Air crash at Brussels airport

On Sunday, 25 May a Boeing 747 cargo plane overshot the runway at Brussels Zaventem airport (IATA: BRU) and crashed resulting the aircraft to break into 2 parts. The spectacular picture made the news everywhere.

6. Frightening landing at Hamburg’s airport

A low pressure system named “Emma” nearly caused a disaster at Hamburg airport (IATA: HAM) in March. The Lufthansa A320 plane struggled to make the runway through 90 kilometre-per-hour crosswinds resulting in the 39 year old pilots last minute go-around procedure and a safe second attempt. The frightening approach was caught on camera and is an extraordinary piece which will now probably be used all over the world in pilot training classrooms.

5. Hong Kong wins ‘Airport of the Year’ award

In July Hong Kong International airport (IATA: HKG) was named best Airport in the world, in the passenger survey results released by Skytrax. Despite being “only” rated in 5th place in the most-timely airport survey, Hong Kong received the prestigious award after Skytrax collected 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers over a 10-month time period. Read our congratulating article here.

4. Spanair crash at Madrid airport

A combination of basic pilot error and an electrical failure was the possible cause of the crash of a Spanair plane at Madrid’s Barajas airport (IATA: MAD) on 20 August that killed 154 people. The airport was closed for several hours after the accident.

3. Radar malfunction at Dublin airport

In the midst of the summer holiday season, Dublin airport (IATA: DUB) made the news with its malfunctioning radar system which meant that controllers lost some functionality on their screens meaning they were unable to see the labels attached to ‘blips’ that signify individual aircraft. The problem resulted in massive delays and many cancellations over several days.

2. Bangkok blockade

Protesters supporting the People’s Alliance for Democracy stormed Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport (IATA: BKK) in late November, occupying the departure lounge and blocking all exits. With that 3,000 people were stranded within the airport and another 350,000 were stranded within Thailand. Read our interview with an affected traveller.

1. Chaos at London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5

In March BAA, the company that owns Heathrow airport, opened its newest addition of what should have been a proud event for London’s most criticised airport. Instead, the opening resulted in a PR disaster with BAA losing thousands of bags over several months. The event then became one of the triggers leading to the demands of breaking up BAA’s monopolistic ownership of airports in the UK.

[Pictures from Flickr - some rights are reserved: London Stansted, Beijing, Berlin Tempelhof, Brussels airport, Hong Kong, Madrid, Dublin, Bangkok, London Heathrow

Final Call for Berlin Tempelhof

Tom — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:47:00 +0000

Every now and then I write about airports that are currently in the news for one or another reason. For your convenience, I have now also created a new category exactly for these kind of posts.

Today, Berlin’s city airport, Berlin Tempelhof (IATA: THF) sadly made it into the news. I write sadly, because the airport will close down for good today after having been in the service for 85 years. The last scheduled plane will take off for Mannheim (IATA: MHG) today at 21.50h local time .

Berlin Tempelhof was probably one of Europe’s most famous airports, mainly because of it’s importance in history. Originally opened in 1923, the later built airport halls and neighbouring buildings, intended to become the gateway to Europe and a symbol of Hitler’s “world capital” Germania. They are still known as the largest built entities worldwide, and have been described by British architect Sir Norman Foster as “the mother of all airports”. After the end of World War II, the airport became the main hub for the airlift operations into Berlin.

After Berlin decided to focus on the extension of Berlin Schoenefeld (IATA: SXF) as the main hub into Germany’s capital, it soon became evident that the days of Berlin’s “City Airport” will be numbered. Finally, on 27th April 2008 the failed referendum for keeping the airport open sealed its fate.

Unfortunately, I only landed at Berlin Tempelhof once and that was years ago, so therefore I cannot provide you with the usual ratings (not that it would matter much now anyway). Wikipedia, however, mentions that it had the “world’s smallest duty-free shop”.

[Picture from Flickr]

The Quest to Find Starbucks at Berlin Tegel

Tom — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:30:27 +0000

A couple weeks ago we were all challenged to find the Starbucks shop at Berlin Tegel (IATA: TXL). I then even commented that I was totally unaware of a Starbucks at Tegel. In fact, I was very surprised to hear there was one since I’ve been to this airport dozens of times in the past and have never spotted the coffee shop. So, is it really that well hidden? Well, watch the video and see for yourself as I went on “The Quest to Find Starbucks at Berlin Tegel”.

What the hell can you do at Berlin’s Tegel Airport?

Christiane — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:45:28 +0000

Despite its capital status Berlin has no representative airport so far – which leads to the hassle of few direct flights to international destinations and the question of how to spend your time at Tegel or Schönefeld when your flight is delayed since both airports are very small.

When you have several hours, go back home or to the city center as both airports are close to the city. If you have less time try this:

Find out that “Tegel” is only one label – which man is honored by giving his name to the airport as well? (No internet research allowed!) One tip: He died in a plane crash.

Find the Starbucks in the airport (This is a tricky one! I once thought I was at the wrong airport when somebody told me to meet at the Starbucks.)

Walk around the circle of Tegel and count your steps. Add some entertainment for the other passengers by a) counting loudly b) running c) running trailing your luggage behind you! I assume that should take less than 3 minutes when you shout out loud enough so people jump out of your way (“Bahn frei, Osterei!”).

Please write down your records and I will try to beat them next time I fly from Tegel!

Christiane

Facts
Airport name: Berlin Tegel Airport.
IATA code: TXL
Website: http://www.berlin-airport.de/EN/
Design factor: 1/5
Shopping factor: 1/5
Toilets factor: 2/5
Overall factor: 3/5 (because it’s just 10 minutes from my home and easy to reach!)