Berlin Tegel Airport the steady decline in scheduled domestic air traffic from and to West Berlin was arrested and reversed. The first expansion in Pan Am's Berlin operation since the move to Tegel occurred during that year's Easter festival period, when the airline temporarily stationed a Boeing 707-320B at the airport to cope with the seasonal rush on the prime Berlin–Frankfurt route. From late 1979, Pan Am began updating its Berlin fleet. This entailed phasing out all 727-100s by 1983. The first stage involved replacing two of the 13 German-based aircraft with a pair of stretched Boeing 727-200s originally destined for Ozark Air
Berlin Tegel Airport a consequence, the French military authorities in charge of Tegel at that time ordered the construction of a long runway, the longest in Europe at the time, as well as provisional airport buildings and basic infrastructure. Groundbreaking took place on 5 August 1948, and only 90 days later, on 5 November, a United States Air Force (USAF) Douglas C-54 Skymaster became the first aircraft to land at the new airport. The United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) commander-in-chief, General Cannon, and the chief-of-staff of the Anglo-American airlift, General Tunner, arrived at Tegel on this aircraft. British Dakota and Hastings