Berlin's Tempelhof airport, once the world's largest, closes tomorrow following 81 years of service that witnessed the Soviet blockade, the Cold War and the falling of the Berlin wall.

British architect Norman Foster calls Tempelhof "the mother of all airports". Tempelhof, built by the Nazis as a gateway to the capital of the Third Reich, opened in 1926. It still ranks as the largest building in western Europe.

The airfield played a pivotal role during the Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 11 May 1949) when it served as the Western Allies' gateway to Berlin as they airlifted in food and fuel to supply the city.

According to Bloomberg.com, a 1940s Douglas DC-3 and a Deutsche Lufthansa AG Junkers Ju- 52 of a similar age will be the last aircraft to take off from the airport shortly before midnight.

Photos:

flughafen tempelhof by fliegender via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Berlin Airlift by velodenz via Flickr (Creative Commons).

If you’ve been "surrounded by airport insanity" in Heathrow's Terminal 5 you’ll appreciate this.

They lost my bags, they lost my wife too… The Guardian reported last week that Terminal 5 is still losing 900 bags per day; travellers on connecting flights have a one in 12 chance of being separated from their luggage. Nice.

At long last journos have been granted a preview of the much-hyped Heathrow Terminal 5, British Airways' very own behemoth; it is the largest free standing building in Britain. Associated Press calls it "a gleaming, light and modern building with a five-storey-high wall of windows and a view of Windsor Castle." Bet the Queen is delighted about that.

The new terminal, which cost $8.4 billion, has 112 shops and restaurants and took seven years to build. Serving only BA's passengers, the first flight will leave from the spanking new terminal on 27 March. Hopefully by then they'll be some proper photographs of it.

BA passengers leaving from Heathrow can look forward to x-ray machines that don't require you to remove your shoes (I expect BAA security staff are cherishing that prospect too), high-tech check-in kiosks, flashy lounges (for first class and business passengers) and haute couture shopping.

Over 30 million passengers are expected to pass through the terminal every year, their bags dealt with at a rate of 12,000 per hour at 140 check-in desks. As The Daily Mirror points out, 68 million people travel through Heathrow every year at the moment. It was designed for 45 million passengers

The Guardian calls the terminal "an architectural and engineering tour de force that raises the standards of British airport design 100 percent." And The Daily Mirror says it's "an awe-inspiring temple to the twin gods of air travel and shopping."

With all this going for it I'm very tempted to fork any extra money required to fly BA from March onwards. Virgin, Cathay and ANZ (all competitors on the London – Hong Kong route I fly) leave from the disastrous Terminal 3. I'd pay double to avoid the horrors of the check-in and security areas there.