Silver City Airways was an airline, based in the United Kingdom, that operated mainly in Europe, between 1946 and 1962. Unlike many airlines at the time, it was independent of government-owned corporations; its parent company was Zinc Corporation, an Australian company involved mainly in mining and mineral processing. The name "Silver City" originated as a nickname of Broken Hill, Australia – an area famed for silver mines, including some owned by the airline's parent company.
DAS Air Cargo was a Ugandan cargo airline based at Entebbe as Dairoo Air Services. It operated all-cargo services between Europe and 20 cities throughout Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. Entebbe was a major hub for business in east and southern Africa and also for flights from Bangkok which stage through Dubai. Its main bases were London Gatwick Airport and Entebbe International Airport, with hubs at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Dubai International Airport and Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. The European office was at Crawley, England
The Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair is a retired large transport aircraft powered by four radial engines. It was a Douglas DC-4-based air ferry conversion developed by Freddie Laker's Aviation Traders (Engineering) Limited (ATL), with a capacity generally of 22 passengers in a rear cabin, and five cars loaded in at the front.
British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974.
Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independent Scottish charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single 104-seat Douglas DC-7C leased from Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity group" charter operator by the end of the decade. During that period, passenger numbers grew from just 8,000 in 1961 to 800,000 in 1970. The latter represented 22.7% of all British non-scheduled passengers. It also became Britain's most consistently profitable and financially most secure independent airline of its era, never failing to make a profit in all its ten years of existence. By the end of 1970, Caledonian operated an all-jet fleet consisting of eleven aircraft and provided employment for over 1,000 workers. At that time, its principal activities included group charters between North America, Europe and the Far East using Boeing 707s, and general charter and inclusive tour (IT) activities in Europe utilising One-Elevens. This was also the time Caledonian merged with British United Airways (BUA), the largest contemporary independent airline and leading private sector scheduled carrier in the United Kingdom, and formed British Caledonian.
British United Airways (BUA) was a private, independent British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest wholly private airline based in the United Kingdom at the time. British and Commonwealth Shipping (B&C) was the new airline's main shareholder.
British United Island Airways (BUIA) was formed in November 1968 as part of a reorganisation of the BUA group of companies. It was a regional sister airline of British United Airways (BUA), Britain's largest wholly private, independent airline of the 1960s. It operated a network of regional, short-haul scheduled routes linking a variety of destinations within Europe, including year-round services from both Channel Islands to BUA's Gatwick base.
British Island Airways (BIA) was the legal successor to British United Island Airways (BUIA). It commenced operations under that name in mid-1970. Ten years later it merged with Air Anglia, Air Wales and Air Westward to form Air UK, at the time the United Kingdom's biggest regional airline and its third-largest scheduled operator. The first British Island Airways had its head office at Congreve House (1970–1972) and Berkeley House (1973–1979), which are respectively located in Station Road and on the high street in Redhill, Surrey.
Lydd Airport is 1 NM east of the town of Lydd and 12 NM south of Ashford in the district of Folkestone and Hythe, in Kent, England. Originally named Lydd Ferryfield, it is now also known as London Ashford Airport, but is 60 mi (97 km) from London and which name officially refers only to its operator. The airport is operated by London Ashford Airport Ltd, controlled by Saudi businessman Sheikh Fahad al-Athel.
British United Air Ferries (BUAF) was a wholly private, British independent car and passenger ferry airline based in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. It specialised in cross-Channel ferry flights carrying cars and their owners between its numerous bases in Southern England, the Channel Islands and Continental Europe. All-passenger and all-cargo flights were operated as well. Following several identity and ownership changes, it went out of business in 2001.
Airwork Limited, also referred to during its history as Airwork Services Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary company of VT Group plc. It has a long and rich history in providing a variety of defence support services to the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm and overseas air forces, as well as having played an important role in the development of civil aviation – both in the United Kingdom and abroad.
British Eagle International Airlines was a major British independent airline that operated from 1948 until it went into liquidation in 1968. It operated scheduled and charter services on a domestic, international and transatlantic basis over the years.
Channel Airways was a private airline formed in the United Kingdom in 1946 as East Anglian Flying Services.
Invicta International Airlines Ltd was a charter airline based at Manston Airport in the United Kingdom. It operated non-scheduled passenger and freight services between 1965 and 1982.
Northeast Airlines (NEA) – known as BKS Air Transport until 1970 – was an airline based in the United Kingdom that operated from 1952 until 1976, when NEA's operations and fleet were merged into British Airways.
Hunting-Clan Air Transport was a wholly private, British independent airline that was founded in the immediate post-World War II period. It began trading on 1 January 1946 as Hunting Air Travel Ltd. It was a subsidiary of the Hunting Group of companies, which had come from the shipping industry and could trace its history back to the 19th century. The newly formed airline's first operating base was at Bovingdon Airport in Southeast England. Its main activities were contract, scheduled and non-scheduled domestic and international air services that were initially operated with Douglas Dakota and Vickers Viking piston airliners from the company's Bovingdon base. A change of name to Hunting Air Transport occurred in 1951. By that time, the airline had emerged as one of the healthiest and most securely financed independent airlines in Britain. In October 1953, the firm's name changed to Hunting-Clan Air Transport, as a result of an agreement between the Hunting Group and the Clan Line group of companies to invest £500,000 each in a new company named Hunting-Clan Air Holdings Ltd, the holding company for the combined group's air transport interests. Apart from Hunting-Clan Air Transport itself, this included Field Aircraft Services Ltd, the Hunting group's aircraft maintenance arm. In 1960, Hunting-Clan Air Transport merged with the Airwork group to form British United Airways (BUA).
British Aviation Services Limited (Britavia) was an early post-World War II airline holding company and air transport operator that could trace its roots back to 1946. Its main activities included trooping, inclusive tour (IT) and worldwide passenger and freight charter services. British Aviation Services' first investment in a British independent airline occurred in 1946, when it acquired a minority interest in Silver City Airways. Silver City Airways operated the world's first cross-Channel air ferry service on 13 July 1948. It subsequently became British Aviation Services' biggest operating division. In 1953, British Aviation Services took over the independent airline Air Kruise. The same year, BAS Group also took control of Aquila Airways, the last commercial flying boat operator in the United Kingdom. The completion of these acquisitions by mid-1954 resulted in a reorganisation of the British Aviation Services group, with British Aviation Services Ltd becoming the group's holding company and Britavia one of its operating subsidiaries. By the late 1950s, BAS Group became Britain's largest independent airline operator. Its numerous operating divisions included Britavia's Hermes Division at Blackbushe Airport and Aquila Airways's Flying Boat Division at Hamble near Southampton. The former concentrated on trooping services and inclusive tours while the latter provided scheduled services to Portugal, the Canary Islands and Italy. In 1962, BAS Group merged with British United Airways (BUA), which by that time had replaced BAS as the UK's largest independent airline operator.
Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independent British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. In 1953, Morton took over rival independent UK airline Olley Air Service. In 1958, Morton became part of the Airwork group. Morton retained its identity following the 1960 Airwork — Hunting-Clan merger that led to the creation of British United Airways (BUA). The reorganisation of the BUA group of companies during 1967/8 resulted in Morton being absorbed into British United Island Airways (BUIA) in 1968.
Intra Airways Limited was a private, British independent airline formed in 1969. Initially, it was a charter airline operating passenger and cargo charters from the Channel Islands to the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Scheduled services commenced in 1971, linking Jersey with Staverton. The airline also established an associated engineering company at Exeter Airport. In 1979, Intra Airways merged with Express Air Freight (C.I.) to form Jersey European Airways. The new entity was initially absorbed into Air Bridge Carriers (ABC), a Field Aviation/Hunting Group company. It subsequently left the Field Aviation/Hunting Group as a result of the demerger of Express Air Services, which had acquired Express Air Freight's cargo operation.
The 1967 Air Ferry DC-4 accident occurred on 3 June 1967, when a Douglas DC-4 registered as G-APYK on a non-scheduled charter flight between Manston Airport in Kent, England and Perpignan Airport in France hit the Canigou mountain in France, killing all 88 on board. The cause of the accident was determined to be carbon monoxide poisoning of the flight crew due to a faulty cabin heater. The crash is the deadliest aviation accident involving a DC-4.
