Berlin-Staaken Airport

The primary reason for closure was military conversion and political change. After the reunification of Germany and the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Air Force, which had used Staaken as a military air base, withdrew in 1994. This eliminated the site's military purpose. Redevelopment as a civilian airport was economically unviable due to the existence of Berlin's other major airports (Tegel, Tempelhof, and Schönefeld) and the subsequent decision to consolidate all air traffic at the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER).

The former airport site has been completely redeveloped and is no longer an active or recognizable airfield. The land has been repurposed for multiple uses:

- **Nature Conservation:** A large part of the area is now the 'Döberitzer Heide' nature reserve, a protected landscape.
- **Renewable Energy:** A significant portion of the former airfield is covered by a large solar farm.
- **Commercial/Logistics:** The site hosts the 'Gewerbepark Döberitzer Heide', a business and logistics park with large warehouses for companies such as Zalando.
- **Residential:** New housing developments have been built on the periphery of the former airport grounds.

The original runways have been removed or are completely overgrown. While a few derelict or repurposed historic hangars and administrative buildings may still exist, the area's primary function is now industrial, residential, and ecological.

Berlin-Staaken Airport has a rich and varied history.

- **World War I:** Established around 1915, it was a key site for the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin company, where they constructed and operated the massive Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeuge ('giant aircraft'), which were among the largest bombers of the war.

- **Weimar Republic (1920s-1930s):** After WWI, Staaken became Berlin's first major commercial airport, serving as the city's primary aviation hub before the expansion of Tempelhof. It was the operational base for Deutsche Aero Lloyd, which merged with Junkers Luftverkehr in 1926 at this very location to form Deutsche Luft-Hansa (the precursor to modern Lufthansa). The airport handled pioneering international passenger and air mail services, including routes to Amsterdam, London, and the first scheduled flights to Moscow.

- **Nazi Era:** In the mid-1930s, civilian traffic was moved to the newly modernized Tempelhof Airport. Staaken was then converted into a Luftwaffe training school and air base known as Fliegerhorst Staaken-Döberitz.

- **Cold War:** After World War II, the airport's location was unique, as it fell within the Soviet Occupation Zone but bordered directly on the British sector of West Berlin. The border actually ran across the western part of the airfield. After brief use by the Royal Air Force, it was taken over by the Soviet Air Force and served as a military air base for the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany throughout the Cold War until their withdrawal.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening Berlin-Staaken Airport. The land has been fundamentally and irreversibly redeveloped. The establishment of the large nature reserve, solar park, and commercial zones, combined with the consolidation of all of Berlin's air traffic at the single Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), makes any future aviation use for the site impossible.