25/08/2019
Start of International Commercial Air Services
The world’s first regular daily scheduled international civil air service for the carriage of passengers and goods began on 25 August 1919 – 100 years’ ago today - from Hounslow Heath to Le Bourget, operated by Aircraft Transport and Travel Ltd. The first of the scheduled services left Hounslow at 12:40 hours, flown by Major Cyril Patterson in a D.H.16, carrying four passengers. It completed the flight to Le Bourget in 2 hours 26 minutes. Earlier that day, Lieutenant E. H. (Bill) Lawford (above) flew from Hounslow to Le Bourget on a positioning flight with one passenger and a small cargo of newspapers, leather, grouse and jars of Devonshire cream.