South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operates a hub-and-spoke network, serving 13 destinations in Africa and two intercontinental destinations to Perth, Australia and São Paulo, Brazil. The carrier joined Star Alliance in April 2006, making it the first African carrier to sign with one of the three major airline alliances.
O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport serving the twin cities of Johannesburg and the main capital of South Africa, Pretoria. It is situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel for South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second busiest airport, with a capacity to handle up to 28 million passengers annually. The airport serves as the hub for South African Airways. The airport handled over 21 million passengers in 2017.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1958.
The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a British and Canadian passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. The Lancastrian was basically a modified Lancaster bomber without armour or armament and with the gun turrets replaced by streamlined metal fairings, including a new nose section. The initial batch was converted directly from Lancasters; later batches were new builds.
British South American Airways (BSAA) was a state-run airline of the United Kingdom in the mid-to-late 1940s responsible for services to the Caribbean and South America. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines, it was renamed before services started in 1946. BSAA operated mostly Avro aircraft: Yorks, Lancastrians and Tudors and flew to Bermuda, the West Indies, Mexico and the western coast of South America. After two high-profile aircraft disappearances it was merged into the British Overseas Airways Corporation at the end of 1949.
The Handley Page HP.81 Hermes was a civilian airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page.
The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in 1948, Farnborough has seen the debut of many famous aeroplanes, including the Vickers VC10, Concorde, the Eurofighter, the Airbus A380, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. At the 1958 show, Hawker Hunters of the RAF's Black Arrows executed a 22-aircraft formation loop, setting a new world record.
No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AM OCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on A400M Atlas and C-17 Globemaster. The squadron also delivers or oversees engineer training for these aircraft.
Rand Airport is an airport in Germiston, South Africa. It was constructed in the 1920s as the main airport for Johannesburg, but the city outgrew it and replaced the airport with Palmietfontein Airport in 1948.
Airlink is a regional airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its main business is to provide services between smaller, under-served towns and larger hub airports. It has since expanded to offer flights on larger, mainline routes. The airline has a network of more than 60 routes to over 45 destinations in Southern Africa. In January 2021, it became the second-largest carrier within Africa by number of flights, and third-largest by number of seats.
Lympne Airport was a military and later civil airfield, at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. The airfield was built out of necessity in the First World War. During the First World War RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returning from, France but was later designated as a First Class Landing Ground, RAF Lympne. It became a civil airfield in 1919 and saw the operation of early air mail services after the 1918 armistice. It was one of the first four airfields in the United Kingdom with customs facilities.
Skyways Limited was an early post-World War II British airline formed in 1946 that soon became well-established as the biggest operator of non-scheduled air services in Europe.
Kaikohe Aerodrome is an airfield south-east of Kaikohe in the Northland region of New Zealand. Built in 1942 as a US Marines bomber base, is the largest grass strip in the Southern hemisphere used now by general aviation. Other than powered aircraft, gliders use the airfield, and an area next to the runways is used by model airplane flyers. There are skydiving operations as well, with a landing spot near the old terminal.
Bell Block was the original site of New Plymouth Airport.
The South African Airways Museum Society is an aviation museum based at Rand Airport in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa. The museum was founded in 1986 and houses a collection of South African Airways memorabilia such as photos and aircraft scale models. The museum also has a collection of static display aircraft including two Boeing 747s donated to them in 2004 and 2006. The museum is funded by entrance fees to the museum and by renting out the aircraft interiors for corporate functions. The flying aircraft of the museum are known as the South African Historic Flight collection, the aircraft are owned by the South African Airways Museum Society and are leased to the company Skyclass Aviation, who operate them for charter usage.
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passing of the Civil Aviation Act 1946, European and South American services passed to two further state-owned airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and British South American Airways (BSAA). BOAC absorbed BSAA in 1949, but BEA continued to operate British domestic and European routes for the next quarter century. The Civil Aviation Act 1971 merged BOAC and BEA, effective 31 March 1974, forming today's British Airways.
The Wallaby Route or "Wallaby Service" is a term coined by Qantas, referring to the commercial passenger air route between Australia and South Africa.
BOAC Flight 115 was a scheduled passenger flight from Heathrow Airport to Palmietfontein Airport in Johannesburg with several intermediate stops. On 26 October 1952, Flight 115 ran off the runway on takeoff at Ciampino Airport in Rome but all 43 on board survived. It was the first hull-loss of a Comet.
