Originally Posted by
spartacus
Before the Wall came down Templehof was the only way to get into West Berlin. Due to airspace restrictions to the east it was quite a wild ride down and the military priority here would always limit commercial aviation, which is why Tegel has emerged as the dominant airport.
Civil aviation in Tegel started in 1960, the wall came down in 1989 only. So Tegel used to be a civial avaiation airport for 29 yeary before the wall came down. I personally had most of my flights from DUS to Berlin before 1989 into Tegel. However, Tegel grew dramatically after the wall came down.
Tempelhof used to be a wild ride down not actually due to airspace restrictions but due the fact that is located more or less in the heart of down - somehow like the old Hong Kong airport.