Voters to decide future of Tempelhof
The fate of Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport is in the hands of local voters, who on October 17 can cast ballots in favor of keeping the historic downtown gatewa

The fate of Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport is in the hands of local voters, who on October 17 can cast ballots in favor of keeping the historic downtown gateway open. No fewer than 170,000 pro-Tempelhof votes will be needed to force a full public referendum on the issue next year, with the outcome to be determined by majority (provided at least 25 percent of registered voters cast a ballot).

City officials have been trying to close Tempelhof for the past decade to force operators to relocate operations to the new Berlin-Brandenburg International (BBI) Airport being developed on the site of the existing Schoenefeld Airport. Tempelhof lies right at the heart of the German capital; the Schoenefeld site is about 13 miles to the southeast of the city.