Interflug

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Interflug was the former state airline of the German Democratic Republic from 1963 until 1991, when it ceased operations following German reunification. Originally, the GDR called its national airline Deutsche Lufthansa (officially Deutsche Lufthansa GmbH der DDR), but this met opposition from the Federal Republic of Germany, with a court case in Bern awarding the Lufthansa trademark to the company in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Interflug (shortened form of Internationaler Flug, international flight) was founded in 1958 as a second East German airline to operate charter flights, so in 1963 when the Lufthansa name was lost, Interflug provided its identity for East Germany's "new" flag carrier.

Based at Schönefeld airport near East Berlin in the GDR, Interflug used Soviet aircraft, such as the Ilyushin Il-62 and Tupolev Tu-134, although in the late 1980s it introduced three Airbus A310s.

Interflug operated mainly in Europe, particularly Eastern European countries in the Soviet bloc, although it also operated flights to New York City, Cuba, some countries in Africa, and in the late 1980s, to Southeast Asia. Domestically, Interflug carried 250,000 passengers in 1969. However, increasing traffic on the GDR's national railway, the Deutsche Reichsbahn, led to a noticeable decrease in passenger numbers. By 1971, the airline was flying between five East German cities, having discontinued all flights to Karl-Marx-Stadt.

The airline was also responsible for the running of the nation's airports. Following reunification, the Interflug-run airports in the former GDR were sold off separately.

Interflug was unable to survive the disappearance of its sponsor, the GDR government. In 1990, Lufthansa agreed to take a 26 percent stake in Interflug with the aim of an eventual merger, but this was met with stiff governmental opposition. In 1991, the money-losing airline was liquidated with its 32 aircraft being sold for US$192.3 million. [1] The company's trio of Airbus A310 aircraft - the first major purchase of western-built aircraft by Interflug - were acquired by the Federal Government of Germany for use as VIP-Transports.