Editing Interflug (section)

===Late 1980s and German reunification===
During the 1980s, Interflug's aging fleet caused increasing difficulties: [[fuel efficiency]] was inferior to that of contemporary western airliners, and [[Aircraft noise pollution|noise pollution]] regulations meant the airline had to pay higher [[landing fee]]s and was even banned from operating at some airports.<ref name="tsp"/> With some exceptions,{{refn|Romanian airlines [[TAROM]] and [[LAR Romanian Airlines|LAR]]}} 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. 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. [[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 [[Deutsche Mark|DM]] 420 million.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Zwei Airbus-Jets für die DDR|journal=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=2 May 1988|page=130|url=http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13527367&aref=image036/2006/05/15/cq-sp198801801300130.pdf&thumb=false|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205101150/http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13527367&aref=image036%2F2006%2F05%2F15%2Fcq-sp198801801300130.pdf&thumb=false|archive-date=5 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=spiegelJune88>{{cite journal|title=Sehr, sehr hoher Preis|journal=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=25 June 1988|pages=75–76|url=http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13529894&aref=image036/2006/05/15/cq-sp198802600750076.pdf&thumb=false|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205160451/http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13529894&aref=image036%2F2006%2F05%2F15%2Fcq-sp198802600750076.pdf&thumb=false|archive-date=5 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Airbus Sale to East|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=25 June 1988|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/25/business/company-news-airbus-sale-to-east.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> The deal was secured with the support of [[Franz Josef Strauss]], then Minister-President of Bavaria, chairman of the Airbus supervisory board and responsible for West German loans to East Germany.

The first Airbus A310 was delivered to Interflug on 26 June 1989.<ref name=airfleets>{{cite web|title=Interflug fleet details|url=http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Interflug.htm|publisher=airfleets.net|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> The East German crews for the new aircraft type were trained in West Germany; aircraft maintenance was also performed there. The A310 enabled non-stop flights to [[Cuba]] (flights had previously required a fuel stop at [[Gander International Airport]] in Canada).<ref name="faz"/>

Following the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] on 9 November 1989 and the subsequent political upheaval in East Germany, several airlines expressed interest in buying parts of the highly unprofitable company to secure a share of the German air traffic market, especially in Berlin.<ref name="tsp"/> In early March 1990, [[Lufthansa]] signed a [[letter of intent]] to acquire 26 percent of Interflug,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Lufthansa Buying Stake in Interflug|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 March 1990|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DD123BF93AA35750C0A966958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FS%2FStocks%20and%20Bonds|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> but the offer was blocked by Germany's [[Federal Cartel Office]].<ref name=nytFeb91>{{cite journal|title=East German Airline Closed|newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 February 1991|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/09/business/company-news-east-german-airline-closed.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> Plans for a [[takeover]] by [[British Airways]]<ref>{{cite journal|last=Prokesch|first=Steven|title=Airline is Pursuing 2 Hubs on Continent|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=18 December 1990|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/18/business/airline-is-pursuing-2-hubs-on-continent.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> did not materialize either (the UK airline instead founded [[DBA (airline)|Deutsche BA]] in 1992). On 1 July 1990, Interflug became a member of the [[International Air Transport Association]] (IATA).<ref>{{cite journal|title=East German Air Move|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=22 May 1990|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/22/business/east-german-air-move.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

As a consequence of [[German reunification]] on 3 October 1990, Interflug came under the administration of the ''[[Treuhandanstalt]]'', along with all other East German state property. As no buyers could be found, the liquidation of Interflug, which had 2,900 employees and 20 aircraft at the time, was announced on 7 February 1991.<ref name="nytFeb91"/>  The airline was then dismantled. The last commercial flight (on the Berlin-[[Vienna]]-Berlin route, using a Tu-134) took place on 30 April 1991.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Mit einer Tupolev ging die Interflug-Ära zu Bruch|journal=[[Die Welt]]|date=30 April 2011|url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/article13292097/Mit-einer-Tupolew-ging-die-Interflug-Aera-zu-Bruch.html|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de}}</ref>