Map showing the sectors of Berlin cut off by the Soviet Union from 24 June 1948 onwards and the routes taken by the Western airlift until 12 May 1949.

The success of the Allied airlift in May 1949 forced the Soviet Union to lift its blockade of the access routes to the Western sectors of the City of Berlin on 12 May 1949. The photo shows US pilots celebrating the success of the airlift and the announcement by Soviet forces that the blockade would be lifted.