Berlin  -  China's Hainan Airlines is to inaugurate a regular service between Berlin and Beijing from September, flying four times a week to the German capital's Tegel Airport, airport authorities said Friday.

The flights are to begin on September 5.

Frankfurt is Germany's most important air hub, followed by Munich and Dusseldorf, with Berlin playing a relatively minor role, as a result of the city's divided status until 1989.

Tegel, situated in the north-west of the city, was West Berlin's main airport, while the East German authorities operated Schoenefeld to the south-east.

Construction has started on a major new airport at Schoenefeld, which lies just outside the city limits in the state of Brandenburg, called Berlin Brandenburg International.

From late 2011, the new airport is expected to handle more than 22 million passengers annually. A later construction phase could see this rise to 40 million.

Once the new airport is complete, Tegel is to close. The Berlin city authorities have decided to shut down Tempelhof Airport this year.

Originally planned as the world's biggest airport by the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler (1933-45), Tempelhof played the crucial role in the 1948-49 airlift to save the western part of the city from being strangled by the closure by the Soviets of all land routes into the city. (dpa)