Amid emotional scenes and steady rain, airport staff bid farewell to the old building as it closed down after 85 years of operations but forgot to give two Antonov biplanes and a Cessna the green light to take-off.

The three fragile old planes had been scheduled to leave during Thursday's closing ceremonies, but were left parked on the apron apparently because of the terrible weather. Now, with most of the airport staff gone, they face being dismantled and removed by road to some other airfield. There they will have their wings reattached and allowed to take-off.

A Berlin Airports spokesman said that no date had been set for trucks to pick up the stranded planes.

Others cleared for take-off

Just to rub salt into the wounds, the closing ceremonies culminated with two antique planes taking to the air at 11.55 pm and the runway landing lights being switched off at midnight, which suggested that rather than conditions being too dicey for the stranded planes, someone just forgot they were there.

The last two planes were a US-made Douglas DC-3, as used in the 1948-49 Berlin airlift, and a German Ju-52, a type that carried passengers from 1932 onward for Lufthansa.

The airport was the entry point for 2.3 million tons of airborne relief during the Airlift soon after World War II.