Tempelhof airport, the iconic structure that once oversaw the Berlin air lift in the 1950s, may be re-invented as a refugee shelter. The overstretched city administration did not deny it was considering the option.

Berlin may have finally found a use for Tempelhof airport, the vast, iconic building that ceased operation in 2008, but has only been put to temporary use since. The city administration is considering turning the iconic structure – scene of the Berlin air lift during the Cold War and once described by architect Sir Norman Foster as the “mother of all airports” – into one of the biggest refugee shelters in Europe.