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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1107.PDF
12 August 1955 This DC-3, seen at Beirut on arrival from Amman and Jerusalem, is operated by Arab Airways, a B.O.A.C. associate. The DC-4 in the background belongs to the French Air Force. The Fiat Gil2 which bears on its fin a British registration (G-ANOE) and the red-and-white flag of Kuwait, is registered to Abdul Rozzak Ibrahim Al Qadoome and operates under the title Arabian Desert Airlines. It was at one time the Avio Linee Italiane aircraft I-ENEA. (Right) One of the two Handley Page Hermes 4s as now used by Middle East Airlines on services from Beirut to Cairo, Baghdad and the Persian Gulf. MASCO is to include the present three Hunting-Clan Viscountsin its equipment. There seems to be a determined attempt to make the Middle East a Viscount area and the fact that MASCOwill provide full servicing and overhaul facilities for this type in Beirut should do much to bring this about. The MASCO-Hunting Viscounts will probably arrive in Beirut after this year's European summer schedules cease and it appears highly probablethat they will be operated, or some of them at least, by M.E.A., which wants to operate a Viscount service between Beirut andLondon. These Viscounts are expected to remain in the Middle East for two years, by which time delivery should have started ofthe 12 aircraft recently ordered by B.O.A.C. There is also a project which, if it comes to fruition, wouldgive the Middle East a single Arab airline in place of 11 of the present operators. This plan is much favoured by Middle EastAirlines, and if it comes into being it will combine the operations of the following companies: Aden Airways, Air Jordan, Air Liban,Arab Airways, Gulf Aviation, Iraqi Airways, Kuwait Airways, Middle East Airlines, Misrair, Saudi Arabian Airlines and SyrianAirways. Such a combination would cut out much wasteful competi-tion and improve aircraft utilization. The present route network of these companies is shown on the map reproduced here andit will be seen that at present there is much overlapping. For instance, the Beirut to Baghdad, Beirut to Kuwait, Damascusto Baghdad and Damascus to Kuwait routes are all operated by three of the 11 companies. Three of the companies also operateon the Beirut to Cairo, Cairo to Jeddah and Jeddah to Port Sudan routes; on the Beirut to Jerusalem run there are five operators! There is a large amount of business traffic in the area, withmuch of it centred on the oil districts; there is a lot of tourist traffic, with more developing; and the pilgrim traffic is vast. TheHoly Land brings many tourists, but it is the Moslem traffic to Jeddah (for Mecca) which presents the local airlines with prob-lems. Recently the demand for transport to Jeddah was of such proportions that the U.S. Air Force came to the rescue of thelocal carriers and transported large numbers of pilgrims. For some time Saudi Arabia had to face the problem of pilgrimswho had spent all their money in making the journey to Mecca and had then been stranded; now all of them must take returntickets. The trouble in Egypt in 1952 took a lot of traffic to the Lebanonand Beirut International Airport's aircraft movements in that year, 20,664, were 222.67 per cent up on the previous year. Moreamazing is the fact that in 1953 this traffic did not decline but rose by another 9.06 per cent, and last year an increase of 18.34per cent brought the total of aircraft movements to 26,669. In 1951, the airport's first full year of operation, 63,344 passengerswere embarked or disembarked and a further 28,196 passed through in transit; last year there were 245,833 embarking anddisembarking and 105,156 transit passengers. The terminal building, opened only 16 months ago, is already being extended.Aircraft movements at Beirut are now around 500 a week. The airport has two 7,800ft runways (N.-S. and N.E.:S.W.),there is runway lighting and taxi-way lighting, and this year Calvert line-and-bar approach lighting is to be installed. Theairport is closed by weather only two or three times a year, and then only for very short periods. In the rare event of Beirut beingclosed, Damascus—about two hours' drive—is normally clear, as it is situated on the opposite side of the Lebanon mountains. Apart from the airlines already mentioned there are otheroperators using Beirut. Skyways are active there, and I saw a York in Skyways livery but bearing the title Persian Air Servicesand a Persian registration—I believe it operates a freight service between Teheran and Beirut. Two Curtiss C-46s bore the nameand livery of Lebanese International Airways, and the old friat G.212 of Arabian Desert Airlines was also at Beirut; had aBritish registration and carried the red-and-white flag of Kuwait. Part of the main departure hall at Beirut International Airport with the restaurant above the traffic counters. Arriving passengers are "handled" on the floor below the main hall. (Below) An Air Liban DC-3 is seen on arrival at Beirut from Nicosia.
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