HOLE IN THE BERLIN WALL

My lumbering old turbo prop had already been descended to the required height for the over flight of the German Democratic Republic, fixed by historical precedent to a figure of below 10,000 feet which, considering the performance of modern jets, was an altitude hopelessly out of date in the 1980s. I was aware that, coming up fast, below and behind, was a Boeing 737 operated by a, would be, new, airline-conglomerate called EuroBerlin. As there was little to disturb the calm routine of the evening flight from Münster Greven to Berlin Tegel along a route I had flown a thousand times or so before, my mind began to ponder the matter of this fledgling arrival to the Berlin scene. EuroBerlin was technically a French Company with a complicated equity arrangement whereby, the West German national airline, Lufthansa, held 49% of the shares. To further confuse the issue, the aeroplanes were registered in the United Kingdom. They were actually operated by Monarch, a British company who had wet leased them to the French parent. Further evidence of the British credentials could be determined by the accent of the aircraft's pilot, now hot on my tail, whose conversation with air traffic control I was able to hear on our common radio frequency.

I was also aware that some one hundred and fifty miles to the east, in a building adjacent to Kleist Park, PotsdamerStraße, West Berlin, another routine relating to both our flights would be taking place. The Berlin Air Safety Centre had been the home of a unique establishment for over 40 years. The so called BASC, would be processing the impending arrival of myself and that of my fellow aviator shortly to pass 2000 feet below, to the over flight of the Soviet Air Defence Identification Zone. The BASC owed its existence to a treaty signed after the Second World War giving access of the Western Allies to their respective garrisons in the former German Capital which, by accident of history, had found itself inside the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany. A cornerstone of that agreement restricted the use of three air corridors to aircraft registered in The United States, The United Kingdom, France (and Poland). As a consequence, amongst others, the West German Airline, Lufthansa was barred from operation to a city geographically inside the GDR. This restriction had remained in effect to that very day by virtue of The Cold War.

In a vast, near empty building, the former home of the NAZI People's Court, huddled around a table in a wood panelled room, military officers of Britain, France and the USA laboured with the Russians to ensure compliance with the accord. For over forty years the Soviets had communicated their permission to the other three allies for each and every over flight by passing strips of paper across a table. The allies then telephoned the permission to personnel at the air traffic control centre located at Tempelhof

Accord, treaty, agreement or whatever, the Allies had used the air corridors for many years for purposes other than the supply of their respective garrisons. Since it was obvious that their use by British, French and American airlines flying commercial passengers of all nationalities was not strictly in accordance with the rules, the question of flights by EuroBerlin looked like a different shade of what was already diplomatic grey. On the day in question, EuroBerlin had not yet begun operations and the flight of which I was aware was one of a series taking place in the run up to the first commercial operations due the following week. Everything depended on the attitude of the Russians. During the previous week there had been considerable speculation as to how they might react to this newcomer to the Berlin skies. The signs, however, were not good for, notwithstanding Glasnost and Perestroika, the Soviet Foreign Minister had been making unpleasant noises about EuroBerlin breaking the spirit of the air access agreements, pointing out that, by virtue of its share allocation and its methods of marketing tickets in West Germany, the organization was transparently Lufthansa.

"EuroBerlin November Bravo, this is Berlin Centre, your corridor clearance is not authorized. Turn around, I say again, turn around and proceed out of the centre corridor" I listened and heard in partial disbelief to the controlling voice beamed from Tempelhof. In that instant of time I realized that it had happened! -the Russians were finally saying niet In that moment, I had visions of the scene at the BASC. Hats would be donned, officers would stand to attention and speeches would be made. I speculated as to the words of the Russian translator articulating to the effect that "Agreements were agreements and in spite of Perestroika, no way was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic going to allow Lufthansa in by the back door" Given the importance of the events, I surmised that the telephone lines to the Quai d'Orsay, Whitehall and Washington would be simultaneously in action summoning Ambassadors and Air Attaches to their offices. My mind drifted to thoughts of power struggles within the Kremlin and the eventual downfall of Gorbachov. After 43 years of Cold War, the thaw for which we had all yearned and welcomed had come to an end. The apparatus of which I had become part would continue to play its role beyond the years of my retirement. "Roger" came the reply with only the faintest hint of surprise "Could you confirm the reason for the turn around?" "November Bravo we do not have a flight plan with that call sign. Could you please confirm you are November Bravo or are you the thirteen seventy six.?" "Affirm," spoke the British voice, "we must be filed as the thirteen seventy six" "Okay," came back the voice from deep in Tempelhof "Cleared to Havel via Centre Route Two. Sorry we misunderstood the plan"

It was a few days later that EuroBerlin began operations from West Germany to West Berlin. A Berlin airlift and forty years of Soviet intervention had been swept away. The scenario to which I had alluded was, thankfully, not to be. The significance of the arrival of EuroBerlin attracted little attention in Great Britain, although I doubt the point was missed at diplomatic level. I remember thinking that, in accepting the new company, the Russians had signalled to the Western Allies a crack in the Berlin Wall. That date was October 1988. Soon after the crack became a hole and on 9th. November 1989, the wall itself began to disappear.