Attempt to rescue Berlin airport fails
28 April 2008An attempt to rescue the historic Berlin Tempelhof airport from closure has failed, according to reports.
A referendum was held to keep the airport open but not enough ballots were cast to make the vote valid.
Tempelhof airport became a symbol of freedom for Germany in the late 1940s when it served as the hub for the Berlin Airlift, a move by the US, Britain and France to overcome an attempted Soviet blockade of Berlin.
It was also the world's first airport to host regular passenger flights in 1923.
The airport has consistently suffered financial losses in recent years however and its closure, along with that of Berlin's Tegel airport, was part of an agreement to allow the construction of the new €3 billion (£2.36 billion) Brandenburg international airport, Reuters reports.
Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit said he would ignore the results of the non-binding referendum, despite the fact that the majority of people who did cast a ballot voted in favour of Tempelhof staying open.
Friedberg Pflueger, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats party, insisted: "The fight for Tempelhof lives on."