An air ferry is a ferry service in which cars and passengers are transported by aircraft. Use of air ferries peaked in the 1950s, but the advent of more economical alternative modes of transport in the 1960s resulted in the demise of these services. Today a large part of cross-channel car transport is done through the Channel Tunnel.
The air ferry service was inaugurated by retired Royal Air Force officer Air Commodore Griffith J. ("Taffy") Powell, who founded an airline company called Silver City in 1948. Using Bristol Freighter aeroplanes, the service operated until 1954 from Lympne airfield, and later from Lydd airport. Other companies and routes opened across the English Channel. The ultimate air ferry aeroplane was the Aviation Traders Carvair, a conversion of the Douglas DC-4.
Air ferries were popular during the 1950s, when they were significantly faster and not much more expensive than the sea ferries. They ceased to be economically viable in the 1960s with the introduction of faster and more reliable roll-on/roll-off ferries, plus hovercraft on a few routes. Aircraft manufacturers were also reluctant to develop and build new aircraft for a small specialised market.
All the airlines below are defunct except Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus no longer offers transport of cars.
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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.
Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group (IAG). The airline's head office is on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Cloghran, County Dublin.
Dublin Airport is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA. The airport is located in Collinstown, 7 km (4.3 mi) north of Dublin, and 3 km (1.9 mi) south of the town of Swords. In 2019, 32.9 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the airport's busiest year on record. It is the 12th busiest airport in Europe, and is the busiest of Ireland's airports by total passenger traffic; it also has the largest traffic levels on the island of Ireland, followed by Belfast International Airport.
George Best Belfast City Airport is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Belfast Harbour and is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems aircraft manufacturing facility. The airport began commercial operations in 1983, and was known as "Belfast City Airport" until it was renamed in 2006 in memory of George Best, the professional footballer from Belfast. The airport has a CAA public use aerodrome licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter is a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner. Its best known use was as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances. A passenger-only version was also produced, known as the Wayfarer.
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 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.
London Ashford 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, despite being 60 mi (97 km) from London and over 20 mi (32 km) from Ashford. The airport is operated by London Ashford Airport Ltd, controlled by Saudi businessman Fahad Al Athlel.
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.
Channel Airways was a private airline formed in the United Kingdom in 1946 as East Anglian Flying Services.
Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, also known as Whitchurch Airport, was a municipal airport in Bristol, England, three miles (5 km) south of the city centre, from 1930 to 1957. It was the main airport for Bristol and the surrounding area. During World War II, it was one of the few civil airports in Europe that remained operational, enabling air connections to Lisbon and Shannon and onwards to the United States.
Channel Air Bridge was a private British independent airline specialising in cross-Channel vehicle-come-passenger ferry services. Freddie Laker started Channel Air Bridge as a sister airline of Air Charter on a provisional basis in 1954. Operations commenced in 1955. In 1958, Channel Air Bridge took over Air Charter's vehicle ferry services. In 1959, both Channel Air Bridge and its sister airline Air Charter became part of the Airwork group. In 1960, Airwork joined with Hunting-Clan to form British United Airways (BUA). In 1962, BUA reorganised its vehicle ferry operations by merging Channel Air Bridge with Silver City Airways. This resulted in the creation of British United Air Ferries in 1963.
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 (BAS Group) 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.
Aer Lingus Regional is an Aer Lingus brand which has been used for commuter and regional flights. Aer Lingus Regional scheduled passenger services operate primarily from Ireland to the United Kingdom, France, and the Channel Islands, and also from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Services were operated by Stobart Air until the company informed Aer Lingus in June 2021 that it would no longer be in a position to operate the franchise. The contract for the franchise was then awarded to Emerald Airlines and services resumed in early 2022.
Calais–Dunkerque Airport is an airport located in Marck, 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Calais, in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The airport also serves Dunkerque.
Stobart Air, legally incorporated as Stobart Air Unlimited Company, was an Irish regional airline headquartered in Dublin. It operated scheduled services under the brands Aer Lingus Regional, BA CityFlyer and KLM Cityhopper on behalf of their respective owners. Stobart Air had operating bases in Cork, Dublin and Belfast for Aer Lingus Regional. It ceased operations on 12 June 2021.
Western Airways was an airline based in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England between 1932 and 1978. Before World War II, for a short period, it was the world's busiest airline. It survived WWII by using its aircraft engineering expertise.
Aer Lingus (U.K.) Limited is a British airline and wholly owned subsidiary of Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of the Republic of Ireland. It is headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with its operations based at Manchester Airport. The airline's operations launched on 20 October 2021, with its inaugural flight from Manchester to Bridgetown, Barbados.