Question

When was Berlin's Tegel Airport first given its time-saving hexagonal terminal complex, and substantially increased in capacity, function, international use and runway length?

Answer 1

1948
The change was a reaction to an urgent need to accommodate aircraft to relieve the Berlin Blockade. The French military authorities in charge of Tegel at that time ordered the construction of a 2,428 m (7,966 ft) long runway, the longest in Europe. In its early career the airport had been mainly used for development and training. By 1975 Tegel was the main airport of West Berlin. In 2020 it was closed to all but helicopter use in one corner.