Interflug


Interflug GmbH was the national airline of East Germany from 1963 to 1991. Based in East Berlin, it operated scheduled and chartered flights to European and intercontinental destinations out of its hub at Berlin Schönefeld Airport, focusing on Comecon countries. Interflug also had significant crop dusting operations. Following German reunification, the company was liquidated.

History

Founding years

Until 1945, Deutsche Luft Hansa had served as German flag carrier. Following the end of World War II and the subsequent allied occupation of Germany, all aircraft in the country were seized and the airline was liquidated. In 1954, a West German company acquired the Lufthansa trademark. In 1955, Deutsche Lufthansa was founded as a rival East German flag carrier. It soon became obvious that the East German airline would likely lose a lawsuit over the use of the Lufthansa branding. As a result, Interflug was set up on 18 September 1958 as a "backup" company, initially intended to complement the East German aviation industry by operating chartered flights. In 1963, the East German Lufthansa was liquidated, officially due to poor profitability. Its staff, aircraft fleet, and route network were transferred to Interflug, which henceforth served as the East German flag carrier.

East German national airline

As a state-owned airline, Interflug and its approximately 8,000 employees were under the control of the National Defense Council, in supreme command of the East German armed forces. The majority of Interflug pilots were reserve officers of the National People's Army, and its aircraft could be requisitioned for military purposes at any time. Klaus Henkes, who became General Director of the airline in 1978, had previously served as General of the East German Air Force. Applicants for flight attendant jobs had to be approved of by the Stasi, which assessed their political reliability, in an attempt to minimize espionage and defection to Western countries. Interflug crews who associated with employees of airlines from non-socialist countries risked suspension. Each flight crew was assigned a political officer who gave political lectures during flights.
The airline's route network and fleet of Soviet-built aircraft grew significantly in the 1960s. The Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop airliner became the workhorse of Interflug's short-haul flights during that period. The company had been the intended primary operator of the Baade 152, an early jet airliner constructed in East Germany. Its development never went beyond the prototype phase and was abandoned in 1961. In 1969, the Tupolev Tu-134 was introduced, the first jet airliner operated by Interflug, used on European routes. The long-range Il-62 joined the fleet in 1971. That same year, the number of Interflug passengers reached 1 million. At its peak, Interflug flew to destinations such as Havana, Cuba, Singapore and Conakry, Guinea.
As a result of the 1970s energy crisis and increasing fuel prices, Interflug gradually dismantled its domestic route network. The last scheduled domestic flight, to transport prisoners from East Berlin to Erfurt, took place in April 1980.

Late 1980s and German reunification

During the 1980s, Interflug's aging fleet caused increasing difficulties: fuel efficiency was inferior to that of contemporary western airliners, and noise pollution regulations meant the airline had to pay higher landing fees and was even banned from operating at some airports. With some exceptions, Western-built airliners could not be delivered to Soviet bloc countries because of the CoCom embargo. Following a deal between Boeing and LOT Polish Airlines for the purchase of six Boeing 767 aircraft, and in order to acknowledge the Perestroika movement, commercial airliners were exempted from the trade embargo in 1988. Malév Hungarian Airlines also bought Boeing aircraft in 1988, and later that year, Interflug placed an order for three Airbus A310 long-haul aircraft, worth DM 420 million. The deal was secured with the support of Franz Josef Strauss, then Minister-President of Bavaria, chairman of the Airbus supervisory board and responsible for West German loans to East Germany.
The first Airbus A310 was delivered to Interflug on 26 June 1989. The East German crews for the new aircraft type were trained in West Germany; aircraft maintenance was also performed there. The A310 enabled non-stop flights to Cuba.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 and the subsequent political upheaval in East Germany, several airlines expressed interest in buying parts of the highly unprofitable company to secure a share of the German air traffic market, especially in Berlin. In early March 1990, Lufthansa signed a letter of intent to acquire 26 percent of Interflug, but the offer was blocked by Germany's Federal Cartel Office. Plans for a takeover by British Airways did not materialize either. On 1 July 1990, Interflug became a member of the International Air Transport Association.
As a consequence of German reunification on 3 October 1990, Interflug came under the administration of the Treuhandanstalt, along with all other East German state property. As no buyers could be found, the liquidation of Interflug, which had 2,900 employees and 20 aircraft at the time, was announced on 7 February 1991. The airline was then dismantled. The last commercial flight took place on 30 April 1991.

Legacy

Following the liquidation, a group of former Interflug employees acquired five of the company's Ilyushin Il-18 airliners and set up Il-18 Air Cargo, which soon became known as Berline, operating chartered cargo and leisure flights out of Schönefeld Airport. The company went bankrupt and ceased operations in 1994.
The three Airbus A310 purchased by Interflug in 1988 were handed over by the Treuhandanstalt to the Federal Republic of Germany and became part of the German Air Force, used for VIP transport of high-ranking politicians like the German president or chancellor.
Several former Interflug aircraft have been preserved in different places in Germany.

Route network

As the national airline of East Germany from 1963 to 1991, Interflug operated scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations.
CountryCityAirportCommencedCeased
AlbaniaTiranaTirana International Airport Nënë Tereza1963
AlgeriaAlgiersMaison Blanche Airportca. 1966
AustriaViennaVienna International Airportca. 19701991
BangladeshDhakaTejgaon Airportca. 1977
BelgiumBrusselsBrussels Airportca. 1982
BulgariaBurgasBurgas Airportca. 1982
BulgariaSofiaVasil Levski Sofia Airport19631991
BulgariaVarnaVarna Airportca. 19771991
ChinaBeijingBeijing Capital International Airport19891991
CubaHavanaJosé Martí International Airportca. 19751991
CyprusLarnacaLarnaca International Airportca. 19771991
CyprusNicosiaNicosia International Airportca. 19661974
CzechoslovakiaBratislavaBratislava Airportca. 1973
CzechoslovakiaPopradPoprad–Tatry Airportca. 1977
CzechoslovakiaPragueVáclav Havel Airport Prague19631991
DenmarkCopenhagenCopenhagen Airportca. 19701991
EgyptCairoCairo International Airportca. 19661991
FinlandHelsinkiHelsinki Airportca. 19771991
East GermanyBarthStralsund–Barth Airport19631977
East GermanyEast BerlinBerlin Schönefeld Airport 19631991
East GermanyDresdenKlotzsche Airport1963
1990		ca. 1978
1991
East GermanyErfurtErfurt–Weimar Airport19631980
East GermanyHeringsdorfHeringsdorf Airport19631979
East GermanyLeipzigSchkeuditz Airport19631991
West GermanyCologneCologne Bonn Airport1990
West GermanyDüsseldorfDüsseldorf Airport1989
West GermanyHamburgHamburg Airport1990
GreeceAthensEllinikon International Airport19791991
GuineaConakryConakry International Airportca. 1966
HungaryBudapestBudapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport1963
IraqBaghdadBaghdad International Airport1963
IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion Airport1991
ItalyMilanMilan Linate Airportca. 19801991
ItalyRomeRome Fiumicino Airportca. 19801991
LebanonBeirutBeirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport1963
LibyaTripoliTripoli International Airportca. 19821991
MaliBamakoca. 1966
MaltaVallettaMalta International Airport1991
MozambiqueMaputoMaputo International Airportca. 1975
NetherlandsAmsterdamAmsterdam Airport Schipholca. 19771991
NigeriaLagosMurtala Muhammed International Airportca. 1982ca. 1991
PakistanKarachiJinnah International Airportca. 1977
PolandWarsawWarsaw Chopin Airport19631991
RomaniaBucharestBucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport19631991
SingaporeSingaporeChangi Airport1988
Soviet UnionKyivBoryspil International Airportca. 1982
Soviet UnionLeningradPulkovo Airportca. 19771991
Soviet UnionMinskMinsk National Airportca. 1982
Soviet UnionMoscowVnukovo Airport
Sheremetyevo Airport		19631991
SwedenStockholmStockholm Arlanda Airportca. 19821991
SyriaDamascusDamascus International Airportca. 1966
ThailandBangkokDon Mueang International Airport19891991
TunisiaMonastirMonastir Airport1991
TunisiaTunisTunis–Carthage International Airportca. 19821991
TurkeyIstanbulAtatürk Airportca. 19771991
United Arab EmiratesDubaiDubai International Airport1991
VietnamHanoiGia Lam Airportca. 19751978
VietnamHanoiNoi Bai International Airportca. 19781991
YugoslaviaBelgradeBelgrade Nikola Tesla Airport19631991
YugoslaviaLjubljanaLjubljana Airportca. 1982
YugoslaviaSplitSplit Airportca. 1982
YugoslaviaZagrebZagreb Airportca. 19661991