Most notably, the airport featured heavily in the Berlin Airlift, seeing thousands of flights bringing relief supplies into the city when the Soviets blocked access roads.

The airport also features one of the world’s largest structures – it’s terminal Building, which runs the length of the airport.

The downtown location always made for spectacular views of aircraft on approach, with houses and flats very close behind. It wasn’t the easiest airport to spot at, however. And in recent times the decline in flights left it a little quiet save for general aviation and business jets.

It is a sad moment to see such an iconic airport close, however.

If you have memories of the airport from an enthusiasts perspective, please leave your comments.

It is also closing down its low-cost subsidiary Ted and reconfiguring the Airbus A320s that fly for it into the mainline fleet.

The jets being parked include 94 Boeing 737s and 6 Boeing 747-400′s

Spotters in the US are likely to see these only at desert storage airports, although this remains to be seen depending on how temporary the move is. Many of Uniteds 737′s have already been moving on to new airlines over the past year or two.