Talk:Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport

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The following statement in this article does not read well to the uninformed observer.

Because of its location outside of the city boundaries of Berlin, German aircraft (usually of the GDR airline Interflug, before German Lufthansa of the GDR) could take-off and land from Schönefeld (unlike Tegel and Tempelhof) due to the fact that Berlin was surrounded by the Iron Curtain during this time). With the reunification of Germany and Berlin, Tegel and Tempelhof could once again receive German aircraft as well.

Two points:

i) What on earth did Schönefeld being outside Berlin have to do with the ability of German aircraft to land there? Is the reader expected to have the same knowledge around this topic that the author has?

ii) Given that we are talking about the former division of Germany, terms like "German aircraft" are completely meaningless anyway. This needs clarified.

Kennethmac2000 15:45, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

Well, Kennethmac2000, look like you're the ideal person to edit this article and improve it's quality. Remember, be bold! I would encourage you to go ahead and make the changes you suggest in this talk page. -- Fudoreaper 21:56:46, 2005-08-17 (UTC)

I don't know what the answer to (i) is! Kennethmac2000 13:32, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

Oh, i see. And neither do i, really, except that part of the city of berlin was under allied control, perhaps this airport was outside that zone of control, and thus usable by east german craft. Or something. hopefully someone else can clarify in a proper way. -- Fudoreaper 18:50:33, 2005-08-28 (UTC)

IIRC German aircraft was not allowed to land/take off in Berlin. That is why there was no German participation in the Berlin Airlift. Schönefeld was outside of the borders of Berlin. See History_of_Berlin#The_divided_city--Hhielscher 20:02, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

It would really be very helpful if people could stop using the term 'German' in the context of a divided Germany. Do you mean West German, East German or both Hhielscher? Schönefeld was in East Germany, so presumably (although I may be wrong - which is why this has to be properly explained!) East German aircraft could quite happily land there. No?

I meant all of German aircraft.--Hhielscher 10:51, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

@Kennethmac2000:

i) Berlin was under an occupied regime of the 4 Allies between 1945 and 1990, the division into four sectors was a result of this. One part of the Allied agreement said that they would jointly control the Berlin airspace. As a consequence, only civilian and military aircraft of British, French, American or Soviet registration were allowed to land in any of the airports located within the city boundary. This rule did not apply outside the territory controlled by the 4 Allies, i.e. outside the boundary. This is one of the reasons the GDR chose Schönefeld as their main airport in the first place, so they could have Interflug aircraft land there.

ii) Admittedly, not just German aircraft were prohibited in Berlin, but all from non-Allied nations. Yet the term "German" as a term meaning "from East or West Germany" is perfectly valid, just as "Korean" today can mean "from North or South Korea". They may not have lived under the same government, but they shared the same nationality. And in this case, also the same restrictions applied. Anorak2 17:12, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge

Both articles talk about the same airport. The shorter article, which I'm proposing to merge into this one, is neither substantive nor broad enough to warrant its own article. thadius856_{talk|airports|neutrality} 03:29, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

The new airport does merit its own article. This is not going to be a modernization of an existing airport. Instead, a new airport is going to be built immediately south of the existing airport. The only feature, the old and the new airport are going to share is runway 07R/25L, which will be expanded from 3000 m to 3600 m. All other parts of the existing airport are going to be demolished or renaturated. I'm planing to expand the article as soon as I have finished the maps for TXL and BBI. -- xGCU NervousEnergy 19:24, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

BER will be a result of concentrating all other airports activities in berlin into a completely new airport. In fact, the airport will be also given a new airport code (BER). Therefore BER is worth having is own article, since the other airports such as SXF, TXL and THF are still in use, have their own history and different future and need to treat independently.

[edit] Terminals

I would dispute that "all terminals are connected", having flown to/from SXF on several occasions. Certainly A and B are connected, sharing airside facilities, but C and D are, as far as I can tell, completely separate. Dmccormac (talk) 19:06, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Merge proposal

Again a proposal to merge the articles. The old airport will disappear completely as the new airport takes over its site and one runway; although the two airports are not exactly the same, I don't see what two separate articles could add here, except confusion. Classical geographer (talk) 07:01, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

SXF was the main airport of communist East Germany, BBI stands for the Reunited Germany. So there Is pretty much of a difference. Citizens of Berlin will surely not agree that both airports are the same! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Per aspera ad Astra (talk • contribs) 15:59, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

I understand your point, but ideological motives shouldn't count in an encyclopedia... Classical geographer (talk) 12:14, 13 May 2008 (UTC)