Serengeti Park: Bundeswehr aircraft to become new attraction

The Serengeti National Park is getting a real airplane as a new attraction. Once used to rescue people after hurricanes and tsunamis, the German Armed Forces' Airbus A310 "Kurt Schumacher" is now being converted into a restaurant in Hodenhagen.

Before that, however, the aircraft will complete its very last journey – without wings and at walking pace. The aircraft will make three night flights over country and county roads before being brought to the park.

In several stages, a heavy-duty transporter will maneuver the nearly 65-meter-long hull across the closed roads. By October 30, 2025, the 115-ton train is scheduled to reach its destination at walking pace between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The route runs from Hannover Langenhagen Airport to Wedemark, then to Esseler Damm and Panzerring, and finally to Hodenhagen and the Serengeti Park.

The aircraft's wings were transported to the park two years ago – politicians and environmental experts initially rejected the transport of the fuselage. The total cost of the transport, including all expert assessments, was €2 million, reports Bild .

This final journey of the Airbus attracted many onlookers to the stopovers. To attract many visitors as a restaurant, park manager Fabrizio Sepe is planning to invest €2 million in the renovation.

He plans to begin converting the Airbus over the winter months, so that the first visitors can dine in "Leo's Cockpit Restaurant" in late summer 2026. To maximize the Airbus experience, everything will be preserved in its original state. For example, passengers will be able to sit on the original aircraft seats inside.

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The Airbus A310 "Kurt Schumacher," with the tactical registration 10+23, was handed over to the German Armed Forces by the former East German airline Interflug after German reunification in 1990. As one of three Airbus A310s, it was intended to meet the need for worldwide parliamentary and military air transport.

The Airbus A310 "Kurt Schumacher" was designed as a pure passenger aircraft, according to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) . It was used for the worldwide transfer of personnel and equipment for training exercises. The lower deck, similar to any civilian passenger aircraft, could accommodate luggage and smaller cargo items.

At the request of the Federal Foreign Office, it also transported relief supplies and brought German citizens home in special crisis situations. After 30 years in service with the German Air Force, the aircraft made its final flight in September 2021. Its destination: from Cologne to Hanover for the transfer to the Serengeti National Park.

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