Many were saddened when Berlin’s Tegel Airport shut its doors for the last time in November 2020. However, you can now own a piece of the historic airport as everything from chairs and screens to bus washing systems and snowplows from the historic airport are being auctioned online by Dechow.
When airports and airlines need to get rid of unneeded items, they have two options. One is to throw it away, creating waste in the process. However, the other option seeks to sell things to collectors and others. This means that waste is avoided, the seller makes money from the item, and the buyer is happy with their purchase.
Tegel equipment auction
A large number of items from Berlin’s Tegel Airport are now being auctioned online by Dechow. These range from a block of three seats starting at €20 ($24), all the way up to airport snowplows starting at €11,200 ($13,600).
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Starting today, the auction of seats and screens will last 14 days until 10:00 CET on February 11th. There are other items to be found on searching the site, such as baggage belts. While some of the deals seem incredibly reasonable, the catch is that all items must be collected from the airport in person, and bids may increase significantly before the end of the auction.
The items being sold by Tegel Airport are spread across three auctions. One auction is for the snowplows, one for screens and chairs, while the third auction has assorted odd bits alongside IKEA furniture from other sellers.
Why is Tegel’s equipment being sold?
Berlin Tegel Airport’s equipment is being sold following the closure of the airport in November. The airport had been serving the city of Berlin alongside the Soviet-era Schönefeld airport to the south of the city.
At the end of October, Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) opened on Schönefeld Airport’s site, meaning that the capacity of the old Tegel Airport was no longer required. This was especially the case given the current colossal drop in air traffic prompted by the current aviation situation.
The sale of former Tegel Airport equipment is not unique. It’s not the first aviation-related sale to the public by the industry and certainly won’t be the last. Last year we saw a British Airways sale of dinnerware and other items from its retired Boeing 747 fleet.
Thai Airways also sold everything from cutlery to Boeing 747s in November, although the Boeing 747s may be harder to sell than knives and forks. Over in the United States, American Airlines has been selling its wine to consumers as passenger levels remain low. Many have been turning the aircraft retired by the crisis into keepsakes alongside sales by airlines and airports. Lufthansa has been selling A320 doors repurposed as bars, while others have been selling keyrings made of an aircraft fuselage.
Will you be buying anything from the Tegel Airport auction? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!