Westminster Airways

Westminster Airways ltd. was a British airline formed in 1946 to operate charters. It later acquired freighter aircraft and was involved in the Berlin Airlift, but ceased operations shortly after.

History

The airline was formed on 5 June 1946 by a group of MPs led by Air Commodore A.V. Harvey. The first aircraft in the fleet were twin-engined Airspeed Consuls.[1] The Consuls immediately operated charter flights from Blackbushe and Gatwick airports.[1] Later in 1946 the company bought two Douglas DC-3s.[1] The Consul fleet rose to six aircraft, four of which were leased to BEA towards the end of April 1947 for their London to Helsinki service, at least until early October when the route was abandoned due to poor traffic.[2]

In July, 1948, the Consuls began operating scheduled services between Croydon and Cowes, Isle of Wight, under a BEA Associate Agreement and from August 4, 1948, a Dakota was pressed into service hauling loads from Fassberg and later, Lübeck in support of the Berlin Airlift.[3] Westminster’s aircraft were finally withdrawn from the airlift on July 12, 1949, having completed 772 sorties during which 4,443 tonnes had been uplifted during the course of some 2,314 flying hours.[4]

The company ceased operations in autumn 1949 when the board of directors decided to cease flying due to the restrictions imposed on air charter companies by United Kingdom government policies and legislation.[1][5]

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

On 1 April 1949 one of the airlines Haltons crashed at RAF Schleswigland during the airlift.[1][10]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Merton Jones 1972, p 83
  2. ↑ Wickstead, M.J. (2014). Airlines of the British Isles since 1919. Staplefield (West Sussex - U.K.): Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 430. ISBN 978-0-85130-456-4.
  3. ↑ Wickstead, M.J. (2014). Airlines of the British Isles since 1919. Staplefield (West Sussex - U.K.): Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 430. ISBN 978-0-85130-456-4.</ref To help with the [[Berlin Airlift]] the company bought three four-engined [[Handley Page Halton]]s, which were converted [[Second World War|wartime]] [[Handley Page Halifax]] heavy bombers.<ref name="mertonjones83" /> A Halifax was also bought and converted into a bulk-diesel carrier for the airlift.<ref>Jackson 1972, p 244
  4. ↑ Wickstead, M.J. (2014). Airlines of the British Isles since 1919. Staplefield (West Sussex - U.K.): Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 430. ISBN 978-0-85130-456-4.
  5. ↑ Flight 8 December 2008
  6. ↑ UK Civil Aviation Authority - Registration for Consul G-AHMC
  7. ↑ UK Civil Aviation Authority - Registration for DC-3 G-AJAZ
  8. ↑ UK Civil Aviation Authority - Registration for Halifax G-AJNW
  9. ↑ UK Civil Aviation Authority - Registration for Halton G-AHDL
  10. ↑ Aviation Safety Network entry for G-AHDL

References

  • Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2. London: Putnam. p. 382. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.
  • Merton Jones, A. (1972). British Independent Airlines since 1946, Volume One. UK: LAAS International.

Further reading

  • Merton Jones, A.C. (1976). British Independent Airlines since 1946. Maidenhead (U.K.): LAAS International and Merseyside Aviation Society. pp. 486–487. ISBN 0 902420 07 0.
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