Deutsche Lufthansa (East Germany)
 |
|
| Founded | 1955 |
|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1963 |
| Hubs | Berlin Schönefeld Airport |
| Headquarters | East Berlin, East Germany |
Deutsche Lufthansa (abbreviated DLH) was an airline serving as the flag carrier of East Germany from 1955 to 1963.
Because of the usage of the Lufthansa branding (the trademark rights were owned by West German Lufthansa) the East German company was under constant legal pressure, and was subsequently liquidated and replaced by Interflug.
On 27 April 1955, East Germany and the Soviet Union signed an agreement by which Berlin Schönefeld Airport was transferred to civilian use (since 1945, it had been operated by the Soviet Army, with scheduled passenger flights having been operated by Aeroflot). As a consequence, the Council of Ministers of the GDR decided to set up a national East German airline, a move which was finalized on 1 July with the appointment of the company's initial management committee. Deutsche Lufthansa was chosen as name for the airline (previously, it had been used by Deutsche Luft Hansa, the German flag carrier from 1926 to 1945), even though the branding rights had been purchased by West German Lufthansa in 1954.
Deutsche Lufthansa acquired a fleet of Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft, which were initially operated by Soviet crews. The first flight of the airline took place on 16 September 1955, by which East German prime minister Otto Grotewohl travelled to Moscow for a state visit. Scheduled passenger flights were launched on 4 February 1956 with the inauguration of the East Berlin-Warsaw service. In the same year, the route network was expanded to include Moscow and Sofia as its most remote points. On 28 March 1960, the Ilyushin Il-18 (a turboprop airliner) was put into service with Deutsche Lufthansa.
...
Wikipedia