BERLIN, April 7 (Bernama-dpa) -- German airline Lufthansa on Monday marked 100 years since its first flights took off from Berlin's Tempelhof Airport – one bound for Zurich and the other for Cologne – on April 6, 1926, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
"Characterised by pioneering spirit and passion, it all started here in Berlin," Lufthansa Airlines chief executive Jens Ritter said.
Two special flights – one a Boeing 787-9 and the other an Airbus A350-900 – took off on Monday to retrace the original routes, with one of the aircraft having the name "Berlin."
The refuelling stopovers required 100 years ago are no longer necessary.
On April 15, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will attend a ceremony in Frankfurt, where Lufthansa is headquartered, to mark the occasion.
On Monday, Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said that air travel linked people and continents. He added that when more people know each other better, "there would probably be fewer wars, fewer deaths and fewer bombs,"
Wegener also expressed hope that Lufthansa would expand its service from Berlin, "perhaps not only to Munich and Frankfurt." Frankfurt is Germany's main hub for long-haul air travel.
Lufthansa was founded as Deutsche Luft Hansa AG in January 1926, the "Hansa" in its name recalling the medieval trading network of north-western Europe.
The company has also acknowledged the dark period in its history when Tempelhof served as a Nazi showpiece.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
