The A310 allowed for non-stop flights to Cuba (flights had previously required a fuel stop at Gander International Airport in Canada). The East German crews for the new aircraft type were trained in West Germany aircraft maintenance was also performed there. The first Airbus A310 was delivered to Interflug on 26 June 1989. The deal was secured with the sponsorship of Franz Josef Strauss, then Minister-President of Bavaria, chairman of the Airbus supervisory board and responsible for West German loans to East Germany. Malév Hungarian Airlines also bought Boeing aircraft in 1988, and later that year, Interflug placed an order for three Airbus A310 long-haul aircraft, worth DM 420 million. Following a deal between Boeing and LOT Polish Airlines for the purchase of six Boeing 767 aircraft, and in order to acknowledge the Perestroika movement, commercial airliners were exempted from the trade embargo in 1988. With some exceptions, Western-built airliners (most notably those produced by Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Airbus) could not be delivered to Soviet bloc countries because of the CoCom embargo. Late 1980s and German reunification ĭuring the 1980s, Interflug had to cope with increasing problems due to its ageing fleet: fuel efficiency was inferior to that of contemporary Western airliners, and noise protection regulations meant the airline had to pay increased landing fees and was even banned from operating at certain airports. The last scheduled domestic flight, from East Berlin to Erfurt, took place in April 1980. įollowing the 1970s energy crisis and growing fuel prices, Interflug gradually dismantled its domestic route network. That same year, the number of annual Interflug passengers reached 1 million. The long range Il-62 became part of the fleet in 1971. It was operated on the airline's European routes. In 1969, the Tupolev Tu-134 was introduced, the first jet airliner operated by Interflug. Its development never went beyond the prototype phase, though, and was abandoned in 1961. The company had been the intended primary operator of the Baade 152, an early jet airliner constructed in East Germany. The Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop airliner became the backbone of Interflug's short-haul flights during that period. Over the 1960s, the airline saw significant growth, both in its route network and its fleet of Soviet-built aircraft. On pain of suspension, Interflug crews were not allowed to associate with employees of airlines from non-socialist countries. Applicants for the job of flight attendant needed to be approved of by the Stasi, in order to assess their so-called political reliability, minimizing espionage and defection attempts in Western countries. Klaus Henkes, who became General Director of the airline in 1978, had previously served as General of the East German Air Force.
The majority of the pilots of Interflug were reserve officers of the National People's Army (and as such were required to be members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany), and all its aircraft could be requisitioned for military purposes at any time. East German national airline Īs a state-owned airline, Interflug with its approximately 8,000 employees was under control of the National Defense Council, which held the supreme command of the East German armed forces. Its staff, aircraft fleet, and route network were transferred to Interflug, which henceforth served as the East German flag carrier. In 1963, the East German Lufthansa was liquidated, officially due to poor profitability (though this step foreclosed the imminent stripping of the Lufthansa name). As a result, Interflug was set up on 18 September 1958 as a "back-up" company, initially intended to complement the East German aviation industry by operating chartered flights. It soon became obvious that the East German airline would likely lose a lawsuit over the use of the Lufthansa branding. In 1955, Deutsche Lufthansa was founded as rival East German flag carrier. In 1954, a West German company acquired the Lufthansa trademark. Following the end of World War II and the subsequent allied occupation of Germany, all aircraft in the country were seized and the airline was liquidated. Until 1945, Deutsche Luft Hansa had served as German flag carrier. Main article: Deutsche Lufthansa (East Germany)
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