Historic Tempelhof Airport -- which played a key role in the Berlin airlift in the wake of World War II -- will close to passengers in 2008, Germany's top administrative court confirmed Tuesday. Berlin's historic Tempelhof Airport is now only used for short-haul flights with small aircraft. The court threw out a bid to prevent Tempelhof's closure as part of plans to expand Schoenefeld airport, a former military airport on the city's outskirts, into Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport. Several airline companies that use the centrally located Tempelhof airport tried to block the closure. But the Leipzig-based Federal Administrative Court rejected their claims, approving an earlier decision by a Berlin-Brandenburg administrative court that argued in February that acceptable alternatives were available and that the move did not infringe on the airlines' rights. The money-losing Tempelhof is scheduled to shut on October 31, 2008. Companies using Tempelhof -- including Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines -- will be required to reroute their flights to Berlin's Schoenefeld airport starting November 1.