Berlin Airlift air traffic control. United States Air Force (USAF) personnel operating radios for air traffic control in 1948 during the Berlin Airlift (1948-9). Details of flights are on the blackboard. This airlift was a response to the Berlin Blockade, an attempt by the Soviet Union to gain complete control of the German capital which had been divided between the USA, the UK, France, and the USSR following World War II. Over 200,000 flights of cargo planes by the Western Allies over 15 months provided some 4700 tonnes of daily supplies to Berlin, ensuring that the blockade failed. At peak times, cargo planes were landing every few minutes in Berlin's airports.