Press­ Release

Tegel Airport site returned to owners / All requirements for TXL’s closure have been met

The site of Tegel Airport with its 130 buildings and facilities was returned to the owners today (August 4) as planned. In the morning, a handover protocol was signed between representatives of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH and the federal government and the state of Berlin. As of tomorrow (August 5), Tegel Projekt GmbH will be responsible for the entire site on which a research and industrial park for urban technologies with up to 1,000 large and small companies, including the renowned Beuth University, is to be built.

The Airport Company has been working with Tegel Projekt and other subsequent site users for a long time. Initial preparations for the settlement of the “Urban Tech Republic” have already been made.

On November 8, 2020, an Air France plane became the last aircraft to take off from TXL. Air traffic in Tegel ceased after more than 70 years. Since then, flight operations in the capital region have been concentrated at Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt in Schönefeld. On May 4, 2021, the operating license for TXL expired.

With the handover to the owners, the Airport Company has fulfilled all requirements arising from the official order to close Tegel Airport and to revoke planning approval. Among other things, the auxiliary terminal C3 and the pedestrian bridge between Terminals A/B and C have been demolished in the last few months and the technical systems for the German air traffic control, the German weather service and the federal police were dismantled.

The handover means that Berliner Flughafen-Gesellschaft, which operated Tegel Airport until 2020, has lost its mission and so will merge with FBB. It had been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB) since 2003.

Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, CEO of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “With the handover of the area to the owners, the federal government and the state of Berlin, the last step towards the closure of Tegel Airport has been taken. We have thus fulfilled all of our commitments on time. Our cooperation with the responsible senate offices and the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA) has been very constructive and goal-oriented over many years, for which we would like to extend our thanks. We are convinced that the former TXL airport can be developed into an attractive research and industrial location with international significance and thus into a beacon for the capital. This means that Tegel will continue to be a gateway to the world and serve all Berliners well in the future. We wholeheartedly wish Tegel Projekt GmbH success with their ambitious development project.”