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Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s. It was based in the west of England and was originally known as George Parnall & Co. Ltd.
== History ==
In 1916, the Bristol based Parnall & Sons shopfitters started to manufacture aircraft at the Colliseum Works at Park Row in Bristol. During the First World War, the skilled staff were moved to sites around the city and in neighbouring South Gloucestershire producing planes to their own designs and, under contract, those of other companies.
In 1919, the aircraft business was split from the parent company Parnall & Sons as George Parnall and Company. In the 1920s, aircraft manufacture was centralised at a factory in Yate close to an airfield used by the Royal Flying Corps. In the 1930s, gun turrets for bomber aircraft were produced. The site was a strategic target for Luftwaffe bombing and during 1941, over fifty people were killed during the raids.
In 1935, Parnall Aircraft Limited was formed when George Parnall and Company amalgamated with the Hendy Aircraft Company and Nash and Thompson Limited. After the Second World War as aircraft component manufacture reduced, domestic appliances were built at the site. To reflect this move away from aviation the company changed its name to Parnall (Yate) Limited in 1946. This was acquired by Radiation Ltd. in 1958 and TI Group in 1967.
== Aircraft ==
The Parnall Scout was a prototype single-seat anti-airship wooden biplane fighter aircraft developed in the 1910s. It was too heavy and slow and never went into production.
The Parnall Panther was a carrier-based wooden, single-bay biplane spotter and reconnaissance aircraft designed by Harold Bolas, who had joined Parnall and Sons after leaving the Admiralty's Air Department. It had a 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine. Following contractual disputes production was transferred to the Bristol Aeroplane Company.
The Parnall Puffin was an experimental amphibious fighter-reconnaissance biplane.
The Parnall Plover single-seat naval fighter aircraft of the 1920s for use off the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers, was ordered into small-scale production, but after extensive evaluation, the Fairey Flycatcher was preferred for large-scale service.
The Parnall Possum was an experimental triplane, with a single, central engine driving wing-mounted propellers via shafts and gears. Two of these aircraft were built in the mid-1920s.
The Parnall Pixie was a low-powered single-seat monoplane light aircraft originally designed to compete in the Lympne trials for motor-gliders in 1923, where it was flown successfully by Norman Macmillan. It had two sets of wings, one for cross-country flights and the other for speed; it later appeared as a biplane which could be converted into a monoplane. Parnall Pixie IIIa G-EBJG is still in existence with the Midland Air Museum, Coventry, England. The remains are in deep store and are not generally on view to the public without prior arrangement.
The Parnall Perch was a single-engined, side-by-side-seat aircraft designed as a general-purpose trainer. No contract on this specification was awarded and only one Perch was built.
The Parnall Peto was a small seaplane with folding wings for use as a submarine-carried reconnaissance aircraft.
The Parnall Pike was a two/three-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft, capable of operating off carrier decks or from water, built in 1927. Only one was constructed.
The Parnall Pipit was a single-engine, single-seat naval fighter designed to an Air Ministry specification in 1927. Two prototypes were built but both were destroyed by tail flutter.
The Parnall Imp was an unusual single-engine, two-seat biplane built in 1927. It had a straight cantilever lower wing which supported the markedly swept upper wing. Only one was built.
The Parnall Elf was a two-seat light touring biplane, three being built at Yate between 1928 and 1932. The Elf was the last aircraft designed by Harold Bolas before he left the company to go to the United States.
The Parnall Prawn was an experimental flying boat built in 1930. Its single engine was fitted on a tilting mounting in the nose, so that the propeller could be kept clear of the water on takeoff and landing. Only one was built and it is not known whether it was ever flown.
The Parnall Parasol was an experimental parasol winged aircraft design to measure the aerodynamic forces on wings in flight. Two were built and flown
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the early 1930s.
The Parnall G.4/31 was a 1930s general purpose aircraft which could operate as a day and night bomber as well as the reconnaissance, torpedo and dive-bombing roles. It was a large angular biplane powered by a 690 hp (515 kW) Bristol Pegasus IM3 with a Townend ring.
The Parnall Heck was designed by Basil B. Henderson as a single-engined, conventional low-wing cabin monoplane, built of spruce with a plywood covering, initially a two-seater in tandem layout. The prototype was originally flown as the Hendy Heck but by the time of its first public demonstration in July 1935, the companies had merged and the aircraft was renamed as the Parnall Heck.
The Parnall 382 (also known as the Heck III), was a single-engined wooden monoplane trainer aircraft with two open cockpits. It first flew in 1939.
== References ==
Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919. Vol. 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.
== Further reading ==
Jarrett, Philip. "Parnall's Final Fling: The Parnall Type 381 Gunnery Research Aircraft". Air Enthusiast, No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 16–20. ISSN 0143-5450
Wixey, Kenneth (1990). Parnall Aircraft since 1914. Annopolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-930-1.
== External links ==
PARNALL - Bristol's Other Plane-maker Archived 10 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Alan Webb
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Bahamasair Holdings Limited, operating as Bahamasair (stylised: bahamasaır), is the flag carrier of The Bahamas. Headquartered in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, the airline operates scheduled services to 32 domestic and regional destinations in the Caribbean and the United States from its base at Lynden Pindling International Airport.
== History ==
=== Early years ===
Bahamasair was established by the Bahamas Government and started operations on 17 June 1973 by acquiring the routes of Flamingo Airlines and the operations and routes of Out Island Airways (OIA). During the early 1970s, both Flamingo Airlines and Out Island Airways were operating scheduled passenger services, Flamingo with British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets, Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops and Convair 340 and Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft while Out Island was operating Fairchild Hiller FH-227 and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops. Out Island later operated the BAC One-Eleven jet as well.
The first Bahamasair flight was to Andros Island and the second to Freeport, Grand Bahama. The Bahamas Government purchased 51% of OIA and became the majority shareholder and part owner, then renamed the airline Bahamasair. The other owners were Edward Albury, Gil Hensler and Sherlock Hackley who had 49%. After a few years the Government had purchased the shares of Gil Hensler and Sherlock Hackley. The only Bahamian owner of OIA still maintaining some shares was Edward Albury.
Bahamasair initially encountered operating difficulties, including poor maintenance facilities, economic conditions and company structure. Those factors brought public distrust as a consequential added problem. However, jet airliners started to arrive in the shape of new BAC One-Eleven twin jets including the stretched series 500 model, followed by one brand new Boeing 737-200, and in 1973, it opened its first service to the US, from Nassau to Tampa, Florida.
Also in 1973, the government's vision of several airlines discontinuing service to Nassau became a reality, when US carrier Pan American World Airways as well as other airlines decided to stop operating to the Bahamas. This enabled Bahamasair to capture a substantial part of the Bahamas scheduled air transport market.
Through the rest of the 1970s, Bahamasair kept adding flights to other cities in Florida and, domestically, the presence of the airline also grew rapidly. According to the February 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide (OAG), interisland flights were operated with Fairchild Hiller FH-227 and STOL capable de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops and also with one Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft. This same OAG also lists four daily round trip flights between Nassau and Freeport operated by Bahamasair with BAC One-Eleven twin jets.
=== 1980s ===
During the early 1980s, Bahamasair unsuccessfully tried to expand to the Northeast United States, opening flights to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Newark, New Jersey. But in 1989, the airline's directors decided that those routes were not profitable and eliminated them from the airline's schedule. Also in 1989, the first of two Boeing 727-200s came into the fleet. That was also the year that a new livery and workers' uniform were introduced. The Boeing 727s, however, could not be kept in service long because of political favors and interference, thereby causing the company to lose vast sums of money in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
=== 1990s ===
In 1991, de Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop aircraft were purchased to replace the whole jet fleet and the Boeing 737-200s were taken out of service. According to the September 15, 1994 Official Airline Guide (OAG), most flights were being operated with Dash 8 turboprops although Short 360 turboprops and Cessna 402 prop aircraft were being operated in scheduled service as well. The Dash 8 was being flown on all scheduled services between the Bahamas and Florida at this time according to this OAG. In 1997, the Boeing 737s returned to service because key routes warranted the cargo and passenger carrying capabilities offered by these jetliners. The 737-200 was deployed to Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando as well as one domestic route, being Nassau-Freeport.
=== Development since the 2000s ===
In November 2011, the government discussed plans to replace the Bahamasair Boeing 737-200s with more fuel efficient and cost effective aircraft. However, it was said that pre-owned
Boeing 737-500s may serve as a replacement for the then current jet fleet. In 2012, Bahamasair confirmed it would be taking delivery of two Boeing 737-500s with a 120-passenger all-economy class layout. The first aircraft was delivered
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30 March 2012 and put into service in April 2012. The second 737-500 was delivered on 21 June 2012. Bahamasair retired its last two Boeing 737-200s in September 2012 and received a third Boeing 737-500 in March 2014.
In May 2015, it was reported that the loss-making airline was in a phase of restructuring to gain profitability as advised by the government. This included new union agreements as well as a planned renewal of the ageing fleet. Shortly after, Bahamasair ordered five new ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft to replace all of its Bombardier Dash 8s.
The airline took delivery of the first ATR 72–600 on 27 November 2015.
=== Codeshare and interline agreements ===
Bahamasair has a codeshare agreement with Alaska Airlines
and Interline agreements with Condor and Hahn Air.
== Fleet ==
=== Current fleet ===
As of August 2025, Bahamasair operates the following aircraft:
=== Historic fleet ===
== Accidents and incidents ==
As of 2025, Bahamasair has not suffered a fatal accident since its founding in 1973. However, three aircraft have been lost in non-fatal accidents and a weather event:
On 31 July 1978, a Fairchild Hiller FH-227 impacted the runway of Chub Cay International Airport seconds after take-off with its gear already retracted. It skidded on the runway and came to a halt, but was damaged beyond repair. There were no fatalities.
On 12 October 1998, a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Mitch while resting on the apron in Nassau.
On 20 April 2007, a Bombardier Dash 8-300 suffered a failure of the left main gear while landing at Governor's Harbour Airport, causing the aircraft to skid on the runway until coming to a halt. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off. None of the 48 passengers and 3 crew members were harmed.
On 14 March 2017, an ATR 72-600 sustained substantial damage after being struck by a violent tornado at Nassau-Lynden Pindling International Airport, Bahamas. The left hand main landing gear collapsed.
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
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The Britten-Norman Trislander (more formally designated the BN-2A Mk III Trislander) is a three-engined piston-powered utility aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman.
The Trislander was designed in the late 1960s as an expanded derivative of the company's Islander, a twin-engined commercial aircraft that had proved to be a commercial success. In comparison to its predecessor, it had a larger carrying capacity, being capable of seating up to 18 passengers, and could also perform STOL operations when required. On 11 September 1970, the prototype Trislander performed its maiden flight; the type entered revenue service less than a year later.
Being marketed primarily as a feederliner and mostly sold to civilian operators, the Trislander was primarily manufactured at the company's facility on the Isle of Wight between 1970 and 1982. Later on, the Trislander was also produced in Romania, and delivered via Belgium to Britain for certification. Several different commuter airlines have operated the Trislander in scheduled passenger services, the largest being the Guernsey-based operator Aurigny, which flew the type for over 40 years. Despite plans to produce the Trislander at the American manufacturer International Aviation Corporation (IAC) as the Tri-Commutair, these did not come to fruition.
== Design and development ==
During the 1960s, the British aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman, founded by John Britten and Desmond Norman, had designed and commenced production of the Islander, a twin-engined commercial aircraft that quickly proved itself to be a commercial success. Being keen to capitalise on the Islander, the company's management opted to pursue development of a larger aircraft that would be derived from its predecessor as to benefit from commonalities and to lower development costs. In 1968, the company flew a stretched variant of the aircraft, known as the BN-2E Islander Super, however, this model was never pursued through to certification in favour of a more radical alternative design - the Trislander.
Seeking to give the aircraft a considerably larger carrying capacity, the Islander's fuselage was stretched and strengthened considerably for the Trislander, a measure that necessitated various configuration changes The most visually apparent of these was the addition of a third engine located on the fuselage centre line atop an elongated tailfin. A fixed tricycle landing gear arrangement was also adopted. While possessing an unorthodox appearance, the arrangement proved practical; in terms of construction, the Trislander was similar enough to the Islander that the two aircraft shared the same final assembly line.
The prototype of the Trislander was constructed from the original second prototype of the Islander; it performed its maiden flight on 11 September 1970. Confidence in the type was such that it appeared at the Farnborough Air Show that same day. Britten-Norman opted to principally promote the Trislander to prospective operators as a feederliner; foreseen secondary roles included its potential use by military air services as well.
In terms of its flying characteristics, the Trislander possesses exceptional low speed handling characteristics, extended endurance, increased payload, and a relatively low noise signature. Capable of taking off from a 150 metres (492 ft) long landing strip, the Trislander can readily operate from unprepared surfaces. It was also promoted for its economical operating costs. Some variants came equipped with auto-feathering propellers and auxiliary rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) apparatus.
== Operational history ==
During July 1971, the Trislander entered service with the Guernsey-based Aurigny, one month after the deliveries of the type had commenced. Aurigny would be the largest operator of the type, operating 16 Trislanders at its peak. In May 2017, Aurigny opted to withdraw all of its Trislanders, the type having been replaced by newer Dornier 228s. One of the ex-Aurigny Trislanders has been preserved and placed on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in the UK while another aircraft is displayed at Oaty & Joey's play barn at Oatlands Village in Guernsey.
Following the acquisition of Britten-Norman by the Fairey Aviation Group in August 1972 and the formation of the Fairey Britten-Norman company; the majority of manufacturing activity for both the Islander and Trislander was transferred to its Avions Fairey factory in Gosselies, Belgium. All production activity of the type in Britain ceased in 1982, by which point 73 Trilanders had been delivered while a further seven aircraft were complete but unsold; that same year, Pilatus Britten Norman sold a manufacturing license to the American manufacturer International Aviation Corporation (IAC). IAC had planned to produce an initial batch of 12 Trislanders (which were to be marketed under the name Tri-Commutairs) from
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kits supplied by Britten-Norman before undertaking full production, however, these plans ultimately came to nothing.
Into the 2020s, companies have continued to operate the Trislander; a number have been made available for private entities to hire.
== Variants ==
BN-2A Mk III-1
First production version, with short nose.
BN-2A Mk III-2
Lengthened nose and higher operating weight.
BN-2A Mk III-3
Variant certified for operation in the United States.
BN-2A Mk III-4
III-2 fitted with 350 lb (160 kg) rocket-assisted takeoff equipment.
BN-2A Mk III-5
III-2 with sound-proofed cabin, modernised cockpit/interior and new engines (proposed, unbuilt as yet).
Trislander M
Proposed military version, not built.
== Operators ==
=== Current operators ===
Anguilla
Anguilla Air Services
Guyana
Roraima Airways
Puerto Rico
Air Flamenco
Vieques Air Link
=== Former operators ===
Antigua and Barbuda
LIAT
Australia
Aerodata
Air Queensland
Bahamas
Lucaya Air
Canada
Burrard Air Ltd.
Questor Surveys Ltd.
Colombia
Tavina
Costa Rica
Travel Air
Botswana
Botswana Defence Force Air Wing
Cayman Islands
Cayman Airways
Fiji
Air Pacific
Air Fiji
Guernsey
Aurigny
Jamaica
Trans-Jamaican Airlines
Jersey
Blue Islands
Liberia
Air Liberia
Philippines
PinoyAir
New Zealand
Barrier Air
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Airways
Taiwan
Taiwan Airways
Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks & Caicos Airways
United Kingdom
Air Ecosse
Air Sarnia
Emerald Airways
Lydd Air
Loganair
National Airways
Sky Trek
Willow Air
XP - Express Parcel Systems
United States
Air St. Thomas
Air South
Cen-Tex Airlines
Channel Islands Aviation (based at the Oxnard Airport)
Slocum Airlines
Stol Air Commuter (renamed WestAir Commuter Airlines)
Tri Air
Wings Airways
Vanuatu
Vanair
Unity-Airlines
Venezuela
Chapi Air
Sol America
== Accidents and incidents ==
On 8 October 1977, ZS-JYF, operated by Southern Aviation, impacted the ground while attempting a stall turn during an air display at Lanseria in South Africa. Despite sustaining severe damage (it was damaged beyond repair) the aircraft performed an emergency landing and neither occupant was injured.
On 25 October 1991, a Trislander operated by Bali International Air Service disappeared during a holding pattern near H. Asan Airport in Indonesia. There were 17 people on board, which were all presumed dead.
On 15 December 2008, a Trislander operated by LAP in Puerto Rico crashed into the sea somewhere near the Turks and Caicos, shortly after a distress call. A spokesman for the Asociación Nacional de Pilotos reported that the pilot had his licence suspended in October 2006.
On 5 July 2009, a Trislander belonging to Great Barrier Airlines (now Barrier Air) lost its starboard side prop six minutes into a flight from Great Barrier Island, New Zealand, to Auckland. The prop sheared off and impacted the fuselage, prompting a successful emergency landing. While there were injuries, no deaths were reported. The accident was caused by undetected corrosion of the propeller flange which led to its eventual failure.
== Specifications (BN-2A Mk III-2) ==
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77General characteristics
Crew: 1 or 2
Capacity: 16 or 17 passengers
Length: 49 ft 3 in (15.01 m)
Wingspan: 53 ft 0 in (16.15 m)
Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m)
Wing area: 337.0 sq ft (31.31 m2)
Aspect ratio: 7.95:1
Airfoil: NACA 23012
Empty weight: 5,842 lb (2,650 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
Fuel capacity: 154 imp gal (185 US gal; 700 L)
Powerplant: 3 × Lycoming O-540-E4C5 air-cooled flat-six piston engines, 260 hp (190 kW) each
Propellers: 2-bladed Hartzell HC-C2YK-2G/C8477-4 constant speed propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 180 mph (290
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/h, 160 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 155 mph (249 km/h, 135 kn) (59% power) at 13,000 ft (4,000 m)
Range: 1,000 mi (1,600 km, 870 nmi)
Service ceiling: 13,160 ft (4,010 m)
Rate of climb: 980 ft/min (5.0 m/s)
Take off run to 50 ft (15 m): 1,950 feet (590 m)
Landing run from 50 ft (15 m): 1,445 ft (440 m)
== See also ==
Related development
Britten-Norman Islander
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
Dornier 228
GAF Nomad
Let L-410 Turbolet
== References ==
== Further reading ==
US 3807665, published 30 April 1974, assigned to Britten Norman
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
Stroud, John. "Post War Propliners: Islander and Trislander". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 22, No. 8. August 1994. pp. 44–49. ISSN 0143-7240.
"Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk.3 Trislander". airliners.net.
Britten-Norman company
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Tunis–Carthage International Airport (French: Aéroport de Tunis-Carthage, Arabic: مطار تونس قرطاج الدولي, IATA: TUN, ICAO: DTTA) is the international airport of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It serves as the home base for Tunisair, Tunisair Express, Nouvelair Tunisia, and Tunisavia. The airport is named for the historic city of Carthage, located just east of the airport.
== History ==
The history of the airport dates back to 1920 when the first seaplane base in Tunisia was built on the Lake of Tunis for the seaplanes of Compagnie Aéronavale. The Tunis Airfield opened in 1938, serving around 5,800 passengers annually on the Paris-Tunis route.
During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Air Force Twelfth Air Force as a headquarters and command control base for the Italian Campaign of 1943. The following known units were assigned:
HQ, 87th Fighter Group, 22 November – 14 December 1943
3d Reconnaissance Group, 13 June – 8 December 1943, Lockheed F-4/F-5 Lightning
5th Reconnaissance Group, 8 September – 8 December 1943, Lockheed F-4/F-5 Lightning
Once the combat units moved to Italy, Air Transport Command used the airport as a major transshipment hub for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel. It functioned as a stopover en route to Algiers airport or to Mellaha Field near Tripoli, Libya on the North African Cairo-Dakar transport route. Later, as the Allied forces advanced, it also flew personnel and cargo to Naples, Italy.
Construction on the Tunis-Carthage Airport, which was fully funded by France, began in 1944, and in 1948 the airport become the main hub for Tunisair. The airline started operations with Douglas DC-3s flying from Tunis-Carthage Airport to Marseille, Ajaccio, Bastia, Algiers, Rome, Sfax, Djerba, and Tripoli, Libya. The passenger traffic grew steadily from 1951 when 56,400 passengers were carried, 33,400 of them by Air France. The airport offered a convenient stop-over point for several other French airlines over the years, including Aigle Azur with a stop in Tunis on the Paris-Brazzaville route, and TAI (Intercontinental Air Transport) with a stop in Tunis on its Paris-Saigon route. Among foreign companies, the TWA was present, whose lines Rome-New York and Rome-Bombay made stop in Tunis, and the LAI (Italian company) which made the connection Rome-Palermo-Tunis.
In 1997, the airport terminal was expanded to 57,448 m2 (618,365 sq ft); it consists of two floors (departure and arrival) and has a capacity of 4,400,000 passengers per year. In 2005, the terminal was expanded another 5,500 m2 (59,202 sq ft), and now has a capacity of 500,000 more passengers annually. On 23 September 2006 a new terminal opened for charter flights. Syphax Airlines commenced a direct flight to Montreal in April 2014.
== Airlines and destinations ==
=== Passenger ===
=== Cargo ===
== Statistics ==
== Other facilities ==
The head office of the Tunisian Civil Aviation and Airports Authority (OACA) is on the airport property.
== Ground transportation ==
The airport is served by bus lines and taxis, but not by a railway (the L'Aéroport station on the TGM suburban rail line does not actually serve it, being several kilometers distant).
== Accidents and incidents ==
On 7 May 2002, EgyptAir Flight 843, a Boeing 737 from Cairo crashed 4 miles from Tunis–Carthage International Airport. Of the 62 people on board, 14 were killed.
== See also ==
List of the busiest airports in Africa by passenger traffic
List of airports in Tunisia
== References ==
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
== External links ==
Media related to Tunis-Carthage International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
Tunisian Civil Aviation and Airports Authority (OACA)
Accident history for TUN at Aviation Safety Network
Aeronautical chart and airport information for DTTA at SkyVector
Current weather for DTTA at NOAA/NWS
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Sir Frederick Grant Banting (; November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian pharmacologist, orthopedist, and field surgeon. For his co-discovery of insulin and its therapeutic potential, Banting was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with John Macleod.
Banting and his student, Charles Best, isolated insulin at the University of Toronto in the lab of Scottish physiologist John Macleod. When he and Macleod received the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Banting shared the honours and award money with Best. That same year, the Government of Canada granted Banting a lifetime annuity to continue his work. Frederick Banting, who received the Nobel Prize at age 32, is the youngest Nobel laureate for Physiology/Medicine.
== Early life ==
Banting was born on November 14, 1891, in his family's farmhouse in Essa, Ontario, two miles from nearby Alliston. He was the youngest of five children of William Thompson Banting, a farmer in Tecumseh, and Margaret Grant, the daughter of a mill manager. The Bantings were a financially stable family of British and Northern Irish origin. Banting's distant relative, the London-based undertaker William Banting, popularised a weight-loss diet in 1864, and the word "Banting" entered the Oxford English Dictionary as its description. His mother's relatives, the Grants, were of Scottish descent.
With his family being located within a secure rural community, Banting was raised in prosperous circumstances. He was often called "Fred" or "Freddie." Farm life largely defined most of his boyhood. He felt excluded from his siblings, all multiple years his senior, and recalled that "my older brothers could not be bothered with me for the most part." When he began schooling at the age of seven in Alliston, Banting was a shy, asocial boy who tired of the attendance and was bullied frequently. Early difficulties with spelling ensured poor marks in exams: "I simply could not spell. Every word seemed to have about three ways of spelling. It was a guess and I invariably guessed wrong." He later attributed these experiences as being the product of an inferiority complex.
During his childhood, Banting devoted himself to farmwork, grew close with his mother, and sympathised with animals in the absence of other company. Marion Walwyn, a cousin who first met Banting in 1901, recalled that "we sat together in the swing in our yard. In an hour he didn't say one word." He continued to struggle in school and stubbornly resisted being disciplined there. After one incident, he resolved never to continue his education but was convinced otherwise by his father. Banting's grandfather, John Banting, had urged his own children to be educated; the philosophy had influenced William, who offered to provide a fund to his sons when they turned twenty-one. In contrast to his brothers, who spent the inheritance towards their own farms, Frederick would use it towards matriculation.
In his late teenage years, Banting grew into a tall man with engagements in school football and baseball teams. Both his mother and father hoped that he would find a vocation in the Methodist ministry. He passed physics and chemistry during junior matriculation examinations in 1909, but repeated English and was required to undertake French and Latin. The next year, he narrowly passed Latin but failed French and, for a second time, English composition. The principal later remembered his repeated efforts: "We would not have picked him for one on whom fame should settle. He was a white boy, a right boy."
=== College and service years ===
Banting finally passed examinations in July 1910. He stated on his application to university that he wished to be a teacher, although he also harbored aspirations of becoming a doctor. He toured the Canadian West for the summer, traveling to Winnipeg and Calgary, before enrolling at the University of Toronto, where he entered the General Arts course at Victoria College. Despite hard work, Banting failed his first year, but decided to become a doctor and returned to repeat the year. He petitioned to join the medical program in February 1912 and was accepted. In September, he dropped out of Victoria College to begin medical school at the University of Toronto.
Banting established himself in medical school by working diligently. His roommate, Sam Graham, remembered him for studying late into the night. Besides being a successful rugby player, however, he was otherwise undistinguished. His grades—now without the burden of language courses—saw a marked improvement, averaging approximately a B, an above-average score. Summers were spent returning to work at the farm. At Toronto's Faculty of Medicine, Banting specialised in surgery.
At the onset of World War I, Banting, along with most Canadian men, sought to enlist in the army. He attempted to enter the Canadian Expeditionary Force on August 16
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1914, the day after Canada's declaration of war, and then again in October, but was refused twice due to poor vision. In his third year of medical school Banting successfully joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1915 and was commissioned a private, then promoted to sergeant. He trained at a camp at Niagara Falls for the summer before his fourth year of school. The university accelerated the class by condensing the fifth year of medical school during the summer of 1916. The curriculum placed more emphasis on surgical procedure and trauma; a lecture dedicated to the treatment of diabetes derived itself from Frederick Madison Allen of the Rockefeller Institute, who recommended that diabetics be placed on a starvation diet for minimum metabolization.
Banting's fourth year was committed to clinical work at Toronto General Hospital. Under the guidance of Clarence L. Starr, the chief surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children, Banting gained training as an undergraduate house surgeon. By 1915, he had definitively resolved to practice surgery, performing his first operation—the drainage of a soldier's abscess—next winter. On December 9, 1916, Banting graduated with his Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) and reported for military duty the next day. After being promoted to lieutenant, he sailed from Halifax to Britain on March 26, 1917. Shortly before departing he became engaged to Edith Roach, whom he met in 1911. Starr, an orthopedist who enlisted in 1916, had been impressed by Banting's work as an undergraduate and requested that he join him at the Granville Canadian Special Hospital in Ramsgate, Kent. On May 2, 1917, Banting assumed a position as Starr's assistant.
For thirteen months, Banting assisted Starr, a pioneer of nerve suturing, at Granville Hospital. He oversaw 125 patients and refused to levy a fee for extra services: "it gives me a certain amount of pleasure to be able to help them which repays me in a way that money never could." After some study, he gained certification in obstetrics and gynaecology, and was transferred to serve in France, arriving in June 1918. Banting's first encounter with medical service came on August 8 at the Battle of Amiens. Several days were spent tending to and dressing the wounded on the front lines, in effect, as a general practitioner. In the lull between battles, Banting developed his knowledge of anatomy. Eager to see more active combat, he hoped to be deployed to Siberia with the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force.
The 44th Battalion, 4th Canadian Division, where Banting served, were engaged at the Battle of Cambrai in 1918. He witnessed much of the battle's brutality. When a German entered his aid post, Banting's life was saved by a patient, an amputee sergeant, who shot the soldier at the post's door. Later, Banting was struck by shrapnel from an exploding shell, ultimately ending his frontline duty. He wished to remain in battle to continue treating the wounded but his superior, Major L.C. Palmer, insisted otherwise. For his valour, Palmer would recommend Banting to be decorated. Banting was awarded the Military Cross owing to his "exceptional bravery while attending the wounded under fire."
Banting returned to Canada after the war and went to Toronto to complete his surgical training. In 1918, he was awarded the license to practise medicine, surgery, and midwifery by the Royal College of Physicians of London. He studied orthopedic medicine and, in 1919–1920, was Resident Surgeon at The Hospital for Sick Children. Banting was unable to gain a place on the hospital staff and so he decided to move to London, Ontario, to set up a medical practice. From July 1920 to May 1921, he continued his general practice, while teaching orthopedics and anthropology part-time at the University of Western Ontario in London because his medical practice had not been particularly successful. From 1921 to 1922 he lectured in pharmacology at the University of Toronto. He received his M.D. degree in 1922, and was also awarded a gold medal.
== Medical research ==
=== Isolation of insulin ===
An article he read about the pancreas piqued Banting's interest in diabetes. Banting had to give a talk on the pancreas to one of his classes at the University of Western Ontario on November 1, 1920, and he was therefore reading reports that other scientists had written. Research by Naunyn, Minkowski, Opie, Sharpey-Schafer, and others suggested that diabetes resulted from a lack of a protein hormone secreted by the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Schafer had named this putative hormone "insulin". The hormone was thought to control the metabolism of sugar; its lack led to an increase of sugar in the blood which was then excreted in urine. Attempts to extract insulin from ground-up pancreas cells were unsuccessful, likely because
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the destruction of the insulin by the proteolysis enzyme of the pancreas. The challenge was to find a way to extract insulin from the pancreas prior to its destruction.
Moses Barron published an article in 1920 which described experimental closure of the pancreatic duct by ligature; this further influenced Banting's thinking. The procedure caused deterioration of the cells of the pancreas that secrete trypsin which breaks down insulin, but it left the islets of Langerhans intact. Banting realized that this procedure would destroy the trypsin-secreting cells but not the insulin. Once the trypsin-secreting cells had died, insulin could be extracted from the islets of Langerhans. Banting discussed this approach with John Macleod, professor of physiology at the University of Toronto. Macleod provided experimental facilities and the assistance of one of his students, Charles Best. Banting and Best, with the assistance of biochemist James Collip, began the production of insulin by this means.
As the experiments proceeded, the required quantities could no longer be obtained by performing surgery on living dogs. In November 1921, Banting hit upon the idea of obtaining insulin from the fetal pancreas. He removed the pancreases from fetal calves at a William Davies slaughterhouse and found the extracts to be just as potent as those extracted from the dog pancreases. By December 1921, he had also succeeded in extracting insulin from the adult pancreas. Pork and beef would remain the primary commercial sources of insulin until they were replaced by genetically engineered bacteria in the late 20th century. On January 11, 1922, the first ever injection of insulin was given to 14-year-old Canadian Leonard Thompson at Toronto General Hospital. In spring of 1922, Banting established a private practice in Toronto and began to treat diabetic patients. His first American patient was Elizabeth Hughes Gossett, daughter of U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes.
Banting and Macleod were jointly awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Banting split his half of the Prize money with Best, and Macleod split the other half of the Prize money with James Collip.
=== After insulin ===
Banting was appointed Senior Demonstrator in Medicine at the University of Toronto in 1922. Next year he was elected to the new Banting and Best Chair of Medical Research, endowed by the Legislature of the province of Ontario. He also served as Honorary Consulting Physician to the Toronto General, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the Toronto Western Hospital. At the Banting and Best Institute, he focused his research on silicosis, cancer, and the mechanisms of drowning.
In 1938, Banting's interest in aviation medicine resulted in his participation with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in research concerning the physiological problems encountered by pilots operating high-altitude combat aircraft. Banting headed the RCAF's Number 1 Clinical Investigation Unit (CIU), which was housed in a secret facility on the grounds of the former Eglinton Hunt Club in Toronto.
During the Second World War he investigated the problems of aviators, such as "blackout" (syncope). He also helped Wilbur Franks with the invention of the G-suit to stop pilots from blacking out when they were subjected to g-forces while turning or diving. Another of Banting's projects during the Second World War involved using and treating mustard gas burns. Banting even tested the gas and antidotes on himself to see if they were effective.
== Public statements ==
=== Statements on Hudson's Bay Company ===
During his 1927 Arctic trip with A. Y. Jackson, Banting realized that crew or passengers on board the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) paddle wheeler SS Distributor were responsible for spreading the influenza virus down the Slave River and Mackenzie River, a virus that had over the summer and autumn spread territory-wide, devastating the aboriginal population of the north. Returning from the trip, Banting gave an interview in Montreal with a Toronto Star reporter under the agreement that his statements on HBC would remain off the record. The conversation was nonetheless published in the Toronto Star and rapidly reached a wide audience across Europe and Australia. Banting was angry at the leak, having promised the Department of the Interior not to make any statements to the press prior to clearing them.
The article noted that Banting had given the journalist C. R. Greenaway repeated instances of how the fox fur trade always favoured the company: "For over $100,000 of fox skins, he estimated that the Eskimos had not received $5,000 worth of goods." He traced this treatment to health, consistent with reports made in previous years by RCMP officers, suggesting that "the result was a diet of 'flour, biscuits, tea and tobacco,' with the skins that once were used for clothing traded merely for 'cheap whiteman's goods.'"
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The fur trade commissioner for the Hudson's Bay Company called Banting's remarks "false and slanderous", and a month later, the governor and general manager of HBC met Banting at the King Edward Hotel to demand a retraction. Banting stated that the reporter had betrayed his confidence, but did not retract his statement and reaffirmed that HBC was responsible for the death of indigenous residents by supplying the wrong kind of food and introducing diseases into the Arctic. As A. Y. Jackson notes in his memoir, since neither the governor nor the general manager had been to the Arctic, the meeting ended with them asking Banting's advice on what HBC ought to do: "He gave them some good advice and later he received a card at Christmas with the Governor's best wishes."
Banting also maintained this position in his report to the Department of the Interior:He noted that "infant mortality was high because of the undernourishment of the mother before birth"; that "white man's food leads to decay of native teeth"; that "tuberculosis has commenced. Saw several cases at Godhavn, Etah, Port Burwell, Arctic Bay"; that "an epidemic resembling influenza killed a considerable proportion of population at Port Burwell"; and that "the gravest danger faces the Eskimo in his transfer from a race-long hunter to a dependent trapper. White flour, sea-biscuits, tea and tobacco do not provide sufficient fuel to warm and nourish him." Furthermore, he discouraged the establishment of an Arctic hospital. The "proposed hospital at Pangnirtung would be a waste of money, as it could be reached by only a few natives." Banting's report contrasted starkly with the bland descriptions provided by the ship's physician, F. H. Stringer.
== Personal life ==
Banting married twice. His first marriage was to Marion Robertson in 1924; they had one child. They divorced in 1932 and Banting married Henrietta Ball in 1937.
=== Painting ===
Banting developed an interest in painting beginning around 1921 while he was in London, Ontario. Some of his first pieces were done on the back of the cardboard in which his shirts were packed by the dry-cleaners. He became friends with the Group of Seven artists A. Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris, fellow members of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, sharing their love of the rugged Canadian landscape. Writing on Banting, Jackson recalls that "He did not want to make a business of art and would tell [would-be purchasers] to go buy a Lismer or something else and then he would exchange it for one of his." An obituary said, "A member of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, he was one of Canada's most accomplished amateur painters."
In 1927, he made a sketching trip with Jackson to the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Later that year, they travelled to RCMP outposts in the Arctic on the Canadian government supply ship Beothic. The sketches, done both in oils on birch panels and in pen and ink, were named after the places he visited: Craig Harbour, Ellesmere Island; Pond Inlet, Baylot Island; Eskimo tents at Etach; others were untitled. A collection of Banting's paintings was acquired by and donated to the Owens Art Gallery at Mount Allison University in 1928. Jackson and Banting also made painting expeditions to Great Slave Lake, Walsh Lake (Northwest Territories), Georgian Bay, French River and the Sudbury District.
At the time of his death in 1941, Banting was one of Canada's best-known amateur painters. Dennis Reid, the former director of Collections and Research at the Art Gallery of Ontario, views Banting's works as very much "part of the Jackson story".
=== Death ===
In February 1941, Banting died of wounds and exposure following the crash of a Lockheed L-14 Super Electra/Hudson in which he was a passenger, in Musgrave Harbour, Newfoundland. After departing from Gander, Newfoundland, both of the plane's engines failed. The navigator and co-pilot died instantly, but Banting and the pilot, Captain Joseph Mackey, survived the initial impact. According to Mackey, the sole survivor, Banting died from his injuries the next day. Banting was en route to England to conduct operational tests on the Franks flying suit developed by his colleague Wilbur Franks.
Banting and his wife are buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
== Legacy ==
In 1994, Banting was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was nominated as one of the top 10 "Greatest Canadians" by viewers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. When the final votes were counted, Banting finished fourth behind Tommy Douglas, Terry Fox and Pierre Trudeau.
=== Namesakes ===
Banting's namesake, the
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anting Research Foundation, was created in 1925 and provides funding to support health and biomedical research in Canada.
Banting's name is immortalized in the yearly Banting Lectures, given by an expert in diabetes, and by the creation of the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research of the University of Toronto; Sir Frederick G Banting Research Centre located on Sir Frederick Banting Driveway in the Tunney's Pasture complex, Ottawa, ON; Banting Memorial High School in Alliston, ON; Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London, ON; Sir Frederick Banting Alternative Program Site in Ottawa, ON; Frederick Banting Elementary School in Montréal-Nord QC and École Banting Middle School in Coquitlam, BC.
The "Major Sir Frederick Banting, MC, RCAMC Award for Military Health Research", sponsored by the True Patriot Love Foundation, is awarded annually by the Surgeon General to the researcher whose work presented at the annual Military and Veterans Health Research Forum is deemed to contribute most to military health. It was first awarded in 2011 in the presence of several Banting descendants.
The "Canadian Forces Major Sir Frederick Banting Term Chair in Military Trauma Research" at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre was established in 2012. The first Chair holder is Colonel Homer Tien, medical director of Sunnybrook's Tory Regional Trauma Centre and Senior Specialist and Trauma Adviser to the Surgeon General.
The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is administered by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The fellowship provided up to two years of funding at $70,000 per year to researchers in health, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities.
=== Properties ===
Banting House, his former home located in London, Ontario, was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1997. The house contains a museum of the history of insulin, as well has Banting's artwork. The Banting Interpretation Centre in Musgrave Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador is a museum named after him which focuses on the circumstances surrounding the 1941 plane crash which claimed his life. The crater Banting on the Moon is also named after him for his contributions to medicine.
During the voting for "Greatest Canadians" in late 2003, controversy rose over the future use of the Banting family farm in New Tecumseth which had been left to the Ontario Historical Society by Banting's late nephew, Edward, in 1998. The dispute centred on the future use of the 40 hectares (99 acres) property and its buildings. In a year-long negotiation, assisted by a provincially appointed facilitator, the Town of New Tecumseth offered $1 million to the Ontario Historical Society (OHS). The town intended to turn the property over to the Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation for preservation of the property and buildings, and the Legacy Foundation planned to erect a Camp for Diabetic Youths. The day after the November 22, 2006, deadline for the OHS to sign the agreement, the OHS announced that it had sold the property for housing development to Solmar Development for more than $2 million.
The Town of New Tecumseth announced it would designate the property under the Ontario Heritage Act. This would prevent its commercial development and obligate the owner to maintain it properly. OHS objected. The Ontario Conservation Review Board heard arguments for and against designation in September 2007 and recommended designation of the entire property in October. The Town officially passed the designation by-law on November 12, 2007.
Banting's artwork has gained attention in the art community; A painting of his called "St. Tîte des Cap" sold for Can$30,000 including buyer's premium at a Canadian art auction in Toronto.
=== Portrayals in film ===
He and his insulin discovery have also been depicted in various media formats, including comic books, the biography by Michael Bliss, and on television. The National Film Board of Canada produced a short film in 1958, The Quest. The 1988 television movie Glory Enough for All depicted the search for insulin by Banting and Best, with R. H. Thomson starring as Banting. Banting is also portrayed by Jason Priestley boarding his fatal flight in the 2006 historical drama Above and Beyond.
== Awards and honours ==
1923: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of insulin – shared with John Macleod
1923: John Scott Medal of the Franklin Institute
1927: Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh
1931: Flavelle Medal of the Royal Society of Canada
1935: Fellowship of the Royal Society
Prior to the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1923—which he shared with Macleod—he received the Reeve Prize of the University of Toronto (1922). In 1923, the Canadian Parliament granted him a Life Annuity
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$7,500. Following the Banting's receipt of the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh in 1927, Banting gave the 1928 Cameron Lecture in Edinburgh. He was a member of numerous medical academies and societies in Canada and abroad, including the British and American Physiological Societies, and the American Pharmacological Society. In 1934, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by King George V and became an active vice-president of the Diabetic Association (now Diabetes UK). In May 1935 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 2004, Banting was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
=== Flame of Hope ===
A "Flame of Hope" was lit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1989 as a tribute to Dr. Frederick Grant Banting and all the people that have lost their lives to diabetes. The flame will remain lit until there is a cure for diabetes. When a cure is found, the flame will be extinguished by the researchers who discover the cure. The flame is located at Sir Frederick Banting Square in London, Ontario, Canada beside the Banting House National Historic Site of Canada.
=== Time capsule ===
A time capsule was buried in the Sir Frederick Banting Square in 1991 to honour the 100th anniversary of Sir Frederick Banting's birth. It was buried by the International Diabetes Federation youth representatives and Governor General of Canada Ray Hnatyshyn. It will be exhumed if a cure for diabetes is found.
=== Honorary degrees ===
Sir Frederick Banting received honorary degrees from several universities:
University of Western Ontario (LL.D.) on May 30, 1924
University of Toronto (D.Sc.) in 1924
Queen's University (LL.D.) in 1924
University of Michigan (LL.D.) in 1924
Yale University (D.Sc.) in 1924
University of the State of New York (D.Sc.) in 1931
McGill University (D.Sc.) in 1939
=== Honorific eponyms ===
Events
Banting Lectures, annual lecture series organized by the American Diabetes Association
Banting Award, highly prestigious award for the best researchers in Canada, valued at $70,000 per year.
Schools
Ontario: Banting and Best Public School, Toronto
Ontario: Banting Memorial High School, Alliston
Ontario: Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School, London
British Columbia: École Banting Middle School, Coquitlam
== Tribute ==
Since 1941, the American Diabetes Association confers Banting Medals for those with long-term contribution to diabetes research and treatment. In 1991, International Diabetes Federation and World Health Organization (WHO) made his birthday the World Diabetes Day. On November 14, 2016, Google celebrated his 125th birthday with a Google Doodle. 2021 marks the centenary of Dr. Banting's co-discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp.
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Collip, James (May 1941). "Frederick Grant Banting, Discoverer of Insulin". The Scientific Monthly. 52 (5): 472–474. Bibcode:1941SciMo..52..472C. JSTOR 17312.
Best, C. H. (November 1, 1942). "Frederick Grant Banting 1891–1941". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 4 (11): 20–26. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1942.0003. S2CID 162239410.
Bliss, Michael (1992) [1984]. Banting: A Biography. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-7387-7.
Banting, F. G.; Best, C. H. (2009). "The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine: Vol. VII St. Louis, February, 1922 No. 5". Nutrition Reviews. 45 (4): 55–57. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.1987.tb07442.x. PMID 3550540.
Bliss, Michael (1990) [1982]. The Discovery of Insulin (3rd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-8344-9.
Jackson, A. Y. (1943). Banting as an Artist. Ryerson Press.
Shaw, Margaret Mason (1976). Frederick Banting. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN 978-0-88902-229-4.
Stevenson, Lloyd (1946). Sir Frederick Banting. Ryerson Press.
Harris, Seale (1946). Banting's miracle; the story of the discove
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of insulin. Lippincott.
Walters, Eric (2005). Elixir. Puffin Canada. ISBN 978-0-14-301641-0.
Raju, T. N. (1998). "The Nobel Chronicles. 1923: Frederick G Banting (1891–1941), John J R Macleod (1876–1935)". Lancet. 352 (9138): 1482. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)61319-0. PMID 9808029. S2CID 54323266.
Hudson, R. P. (1979). "New light on the insulin controversy (Frederick G. Banting and J. J. R. Macleod)". Annals of Internal Medicine. 91 (2): 311. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-91-2-311. PMID 380438.
Fletcher, K. (2007). "Sir Frederick Banting homestead sold to developer, family outraged". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 176 (12): 1691–92. doi:10.1503/cmaj.070613. PMC 1877854. PMID 17548378.
Shampo, M. A.; Kyle, R. A. (2005). "Frederick Banting – Nobel Laureate for Discovery of Insulin". Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 80 (5): 576. doi:10.4065/80.5.576. PMID 15887423.
MacLeod, J. B. A. (2006). "Frederick G. Banting: Giving Prospects for Life from the Past to the New Millennium". Archives of Surgery. 141 (7): 705–07. doi:10.1001/archsurg.141.7.705. PMID 16847245.
Elliot, J. C. (2004). "Banting – a Nobel artist". The Medical Journal of Australia. 181 (11–12): 631. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb06494.x. PMID 15588191. S2CID 10131078.
Todhunter, E. N. (1953). "Frederick G. Banting, November 14, 1891–February 22, 1941". Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 29 (11): 1093. PMID 13108539.
Les caprices du Nobel by William Rostène, ed. L'Harmattan (Paris), 2013 (in French) ISBN 978-2-343-01844-7
== External links ==
Works by or about Frederick Banting at the Internet Archive
Banting House National Historic Site (Archived January 17, 2021, at the Wayback Machine)
Frederick Banting on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture on September 15, 1925, "Diabetes and Insulin"
Ontario Plaques – The Discovery of Insulin (Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine)
CBC Digital Archives – Chasing a Cure for Diabetes
Simcoe County Archives – "Sir Frederick Banting"
Famous Canadian Physicians: Sir Frederick Banting at Library and Archives Canada
World Diabetes Day on Banting's Birthday, November 14
1928 A.Y. Jackson and Frederick Banting – NWT Historical Timeline, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
Frederick Banting Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library Archived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
The Discovery and Early Development of Insulin Digital Collection, Toronto
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Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) is a Japanese cargo airline with its head office on the property of Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, outside Tokyo. It operates scheduled cargo services in Asia and to Europe and North America. Its main base is Narita Airport.
== History ==
Nippon Cargo Airlines was established on September 21, 1978 (its head office was initially a single room inside All Nippon Airways' space at the Kasumigaseki Building) and started operations in 1985. It was Japan's first all-cargo airline. Over time, their network has grown to include many cities on three continents. Initially, NCA was a joint venture of shipping companies headed by Nippon Yusen and All Nippon Airways (ANA). In August 2005, ANA sold its stake to Nippon Yusen.
The airline is owned by Nippon Yusen (100%). In March 2023, ANA announced plans to acquire NCA from Nippon Yusen to enhance ANA's freight operations. The deal was delayed due to international regulatory concerns.
In December 2010, NCA was selected to provide ground support services for the Japanese Air Force One aircraft, replacing Japan Airlines which was then in the process of retiring its 747 fleet.
== Corporate affairs ==
=== Headquarters and major offices ===
Nippon Cargo Airlines has its headquarters in the NCA Line Maintenance Hangar (NCAライン整備ハンガー NCA Rain Seibi Hangā) at Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture. The hangar is within the engineering and maintenance complex at Narita Airport. The facility has several environmentally friendly aspects, including a light wall, top lighting, naturally balanced wind power vent windows, a garden roof, a solar water heating system, and equipment to use rainwater to wash aircraft fuselages.
In 2007 NCA signed a deal with Nippon Steel Engineering, which historically built hangars for large aircraft, for the construction of a maintenance and engineering hangar at Narita. The building was to have environmentally friendly procedures conducive to maintaining aircraft during the daytime, because NCA has its aircraft maintenance activities scheduled for daytime hours. On April 30, 2009, the construction of the line maintenance hangar was completed. On June 8, 2009, the hangar's operations began.
In July 1978, when the company first began, it operated within a single room inside All Nippon Airways's space in the Kasumigaseki Building in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. In March 1997 NCA moved its headquarters from the Shiroyama JT Mori Building (城山JT森ビル Shiroyama JT Mori Biru) to the 10th floor of the New Kasumigaseki Building (新霞が関ビル Shin Kasumigaseki Biru), which had housed NCA's marketing division from 1987 to 1991. In March 2003, due to a demand for more space, the headquarters moved to the Shiodome City Center in Shiodome, Minato, Tokyo when it opened; the move was the fifth time the headquarters moved. The airline had its headquarters and its East Japan sales office on the 8th floor.
==== Regional office facilities ====
Currently the airline's corporate Tokyo office is in the Onarimon Yusen Building (御成門郵船ビルディング Onarimon Yūsen Biru) in Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato, Tokyo. In 2008 the corporate Narita office was on the fourth floor of the Cargo Administration Building (貨物管理ビル Kamotsu Kanri Biru).
==== Other Japan facilities ====
NCA opened a computer center in Koto, Tokyo in 2007, with the opening ceremony taking place on March 12, 2007. Previously the computer operations were done at the ANA computer center. On October 9, 2007, the airline established its Global Operations Center at Terminal 2 of Narita International Airport. Some members of the technical section of the flight operations headquarters were immediately moved to the new center. In the northern hemisphere spring of 2008, crew-related sections were to be transferred to the new operations center. In 2007 NCA signed an order with Taisei Corporation for the construction of a crew training center. Construction on the crew center, located in Shibayama, Sanbu District, was to begin in September 2007. The company scheduled for the facility to become operational in September 2008. On May 6, 2011, the airline announced that it was relocating its local Narita offices and its cargo warehouse from Narita's north cargo area to Narita's south cargo area.
=== Divisions and worldwide offices ===
In 2007, NCA established the regional subsidiaries NCA Americas Inc. and Nippon Cargo
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Europe B.V. Its Americas regional headquarters is on the property of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Originally the US subsidiary was to be headquartered in New York. Its European regional headquarters is on the property of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands.
== Destinations ==
Nippon Cargo Airlines serves the following destinations (as of June 2024):
=== Codeshare agreements ===
Nippon Cargo Airlines codeshares with the following airlines:
Cargolux
Singapore Airlines Cargo
== Fleet ==
=== Current fleet ===
As of August 2025, Nippon Cargo Airlines operates the following aircraft:
=== Fleet development ===
On 9 June 2005 Nippon Cargo Airline's first Boeing 747-400F was delivered in Everett, Washington, the first of four ordered by the airline.
In June 2006, NCA ordered two additional Boeing 747-400F to eight that had already been ordered. These aircraft were delivered beginning in 2008 and replaced the Boeing 747-200F. By May 2009, the ten 747-400 had been delivered, but the last two were placed with Cargo B Airlines, a Belgian operator which NCA owned shares of. Cargo B filed for bankruptcy in May 2009, and the two aircraft were placed into storage. Subsequently, both were leased (or possibly sold) to AirBridgeCargo Airlines.
In 2007 the airline had ordered 14 Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft and has taken delivery of eight examples. In 2015 it cancelled outstanding orders for four of the aircraft, but still retains options on two more. It is thought to be due to the downturn of cargo volumes in the Asia Pacific region. In 2017, it cancelled the remaining two options of the aircraft, leaving the airline with no further unfulfilled aircraft orders.
=== Former fleet ===
Nippon Cargo Airlines previously operated the following aircraft:
== References ==
== External links ==
Media related to Nippon Cargo Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
Nippon Cargo Airlines
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The Curtiss Robin, introduced in 1928, is an American high-wing monoplane built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company.
The J-1 version was flown by Wrong Way Corrigan who crossed the Atlantic after being refused permission to do so.
== Design ==
The Robin, a workmanlike cabin monoplane, had a wooden wing and steel tubing fuselage. The cabin accommodated three persons; two passengers were seated side-by-side behind the pilot. Early Robins were distinguished by large flat fairings over the parallel diagonal wing bracing struts; the fairings were abandoned on later versions, having been found to be ineffective in creating lift. The original landing gear had bungee rubber cord shock absorbers, later replaced by an oleo-pneumatic system; a number of Robins had twin floats added. Variants of the Robin were fitted with engines which developed 90–185 hp (67–138 kW).
== Operational history ==
A single modified Robin (with a 110 hp (82 kW) Warner R-420-1) was used by the United States Army Air Corps, and designated the XC-10. This aircraft was used in a test program for radio-controlled (and unmanned) flight.
Cuba's national airline, Compañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación Curtiss, was founded in 1929 with the Curtiss-Wright company serving as its co-founder and major investor. The airline's first aircraft was a Curtiss Robin and it was flown on domestic routes as a mail and passenger transport.
From September 1929 to May 1930 a Robin C-1 was used to deliver the McCook, Nebraska Daily Gazette to communities in rural Nebraska and Kansas. The airplane flew a nonstop route of 380 miles (610 km) daily, dropping bundles of newspapers from a height of 500 feet (150 m) to local carriers.
A Curtiss Robin C was purchased by the Paraguayan government in 1932 for the transport squadron of its air arm. It was intensively used as a VIP transport plane and air ambulance during the Chaco War (1932–1935).
== Variants (Model 50) ==
Data from:Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947
Challenger Robin
(Model 50A) An early version of the Robin, powered by a 165 hp (123 kW) Curtiss Challenger radial piston engine.
Comet Robin
One Robin was converted by its owner in 1937, fitted with a 150 hp (110 kW) Comet 7-D radial piston engine.
Robin
(Model 50A) Prototypes and initial production aircraft powered by 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 engines.
Robin B
A three-seat cabin monoplane, fitted with wheel brakes and a steerable tailwheel, powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine; about 325 were built.
Robin B-2
A three-seat cabin monoplane, powered by a 150–180 hp (110–130 kW) Wright-Hisso "A","E" and "I" V-8 water-cooled piston engine.
Robin C
A three-seat cabin monoplane, powered by a 170 hp (130 kW) or 185 hp (138 kW) Curtiss Challenger radial piston engine; about 50 built.
Robin C-1
(Model 50C) An improved version of the Robin C, powered by a 185 hp (138 kW) Curtiss Challenger radial piston engine; over 200 built.
Robin C-2
(Model 50D) A long-range version fitted with an extra fuel tank, powered by a 170 hp (130 kW) Curtiss Challenger radial piston engine; six built.
Robin 4C
(Model 50E) A four-seat version, powered by a Curtiss Challenger radial piston engine; one built.
Robin 4C-1
A three-seat version with an enlarged forward fuselage section; three built.
Robin 4C-1A
(Model 50G) Another four-seat version with an enlarged forward fuselage section; 11 built.
Robin 4C-2
A single un-certified version powered by a 225 hp (168 kW) Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind engine.
Robin CR
A one-off experimental version, fitted with a 120 hp (89 kW) Curtiss Crusader engine.
Robin J-1
(Model 50H) Powered by a 165 hp (123 kW) Wright J-6-5 Whirlwind radial piston engine; about 40 built.
Robin J-2
(Model 50I) A long-range version, with 80 US gal (67 imp gal; 300 L) fuel. Two were built
Robin J-3
A J-1 temporarily designated J-3, which reverted to the J-1 designation after being de-
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Robin M
A Robin B aircraft, fitted with the 115 hp (86 kW) Milwaukee Tank V-502 V-8 engine (air-cooled OX-5 conversions).
Robin W
(Model 50J) Powered by a 110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab radial piston engine. Only a small number were built in 1930.
XC-10
One Robin W was sold to the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and converted into an unmanned pilot-less radio-controlled test aircraft, powered by a 110 hp (82 kW) Warner R-420-1.
== Operators ==
=== Military operators ===
Paraguay
Paraguayan Air Force
United States
United States Army Air Corps
== Surviving aircraft ==
=== Australia ===
477 – J-1 airworthy with John Graeme Vevers of Patterson Lakes, Victoria.
=== Brazil ===
248 – C-2 in storage at the TAM Museum in São Carlos, São Paulo.
=== Canada ===
405 – C-1 on display at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
=== Costa Rica ===
C-1 on display at the Juan Santamaría International Airport domestic terminal in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
=== Germany ===
130 – J-1 airworthy with Antique Aeroflyers in Mengen, Baden-Württemberg.
=== United States ===
193 – B airworthy at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
213 – B airworthy at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.
329 – B-1 on static display at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in San Diego, California.
337 – C-1 on static display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
403 – B-2 on display at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
469 – C-1 on display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
628 – C-1 on static display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
712 – 4C-1A on display at the Western North Carolina Air Museum in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
733 – J-1D on display at the Shannon Air Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was previously on display at the Virginia Aviation Museum.
737 – J-1 airworthy with Brian T. Coughlin of Cazenovia, New York. It is based at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.
J-1 Ole Miss (US registration NR526N) on static display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. that set the aviation endurance record in 1935 (continuously airborne June 4-July 1), which it held for 4 years.
On static display at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York. It has floats in place of wheeled landing gear.
On display at the Air Zoo in Portage, Michigan.
On display at the Eagles Mere Air Museum in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania.
On static display at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York.
On display at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
Under restoration at the Candler Field Museum in Williamson, Georgia. Now owned and operated by Capt. Buerk’s Living History Museum in New Hampshire.
Under restoration at the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington.
== Specifications (Robin OX-5) ==
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947, Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 2 pax / 425 lb (193 kg) payload
Length: 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)
Height: 7 ft 10 in (2.4 m)
Wing area: 262.5 sq ft (24.39 m2)
Airfoil: Curtiss C-72
Empty weight: 1,475 lb (669 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 2,175 lb (987 kg)
Fuel capacity: 50 US gal (42 imp gal; 190 L) fuel; 5 US gal (4.2 imp gal; 19 L) oil
Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss OX-5 V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 99.7 mph (160.5 km/h, 86.6 kn)
Cruise speed: 85 mph (137 km/h, 74 kn)
Landing speed: 45 mph (39 kn; 72 km
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h)
Range: 785 mi (1,263 km, 682 nmi) cruising; 580 mi (500 nmi; 930 km) at full throttle
Service ceiling: 12,500 ft (3,800 m)
Rate of climb: 450 ft/min (2.3 m/s)
Time to altitude: 3,800 ft (1,200 m) in 10 minutes
Wing loading: 8.2 lb/sq ft (40 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.0465 hp/lb (0.0764 kW/kg)
== See also ==
Related development
Curtiss Thrush
Related lists
List of military aircraft of the United States
List of civil aircraft
== References ==
== Bibliography ==
Hagedorn, Dan (March–May 1992). "Curtiss Types in Latin America". Air Enthusiast. No. 45. pp. 61–77. ISSN 0143-5450.
== External links ==
Virginia Aircraft Museum
Airminded.net
Curtiss Robin J-1 Deluxe "Ole Miss" Archived 2018-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
[1] Archived 2018-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
A Curtiss Robin is rebuilt from an empty frame
A brief story of "Wrongway" Corrigan's adventure
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Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for Aerovias de Colombia S.A., "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. It is headquartered in Colombia, with its registered office in Barranquilla and its global headquarters in Bogotá and main hub at El Dorado International Airport. Avianca is the flagship of a group of airlines of the Americas, which operates as one airline using a codesharing system. Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and second largest in South America, after LATAM of Chile. Avianca and its subsidiaries have the most extensive network of destinations in the Americas. Before the merger with TACA in 2010, it was wholly owned by Synergy Group, a South American holding company established by Germán Efromovich and specializing in air transport. It is listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange.
Through SCADTA, Avianca is one of the world's oldest extant airlines and dates its founding to 1919. It became a member of Star Alliance on June 21, 2012, after a process that lasted approximately 18 months from the initial announcement of its invitation to join the alliance. On May 10, 2020, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a court in New York City, and liquidated its subsidiary Avianca Perú, due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
== History ==
=== SCADTA (1919–1940) ===
The airline traces its history back to December 5, 1919, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. Colombians Ernesto Cortissoz Alvarez-Correa (the first President of the airline), Rafael María Palacio, Cristóbal Restrepo, Jacobo Correa and Aristides Noguera and Germans Werner Kämmerer, Stuart Hosie, and Albert Tietjen founded the Colombo-German Company, called Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos or SCADTA. The company accomplished its first flight on September 5, 1920, between Barranquilla and the nearby town of Puerto Colombia using a Junkers F.13, transporting 57 pieces of mail. The flight was piloted by German Helmuth von Krohn. This and another aircraft of the same type were completely mechanically constructed monoplanes, the engines of which had to be modified to efficiently operate in the climate of the country. There were nine aircraft in the fleet with a total range of 850 km (528 mi), which could carry up to four passengers and two crewmen. Due to the topographic characteristics of the country and the lack of airports at the time, floats were adapted for two of the Junkers aircraft to make water landings in the rivers near different towns. Using these floats, Helmuth von Krohn was able to perform the first inland flight over Colombia on October 20, 1920, following the course of the Magdalena River; the flight took eight hours and required four emergency landings in the water.
Soon after the airline was founded, German scientist and philanthropist Peter von Bauer became interested in the airline and contributed general knowledge, capital and a tenth aircraft for the company, as well as obtaining concessions from the Colombian government to operate the country's airmail transportation division using the airline, which began in 1922. This new contract allowed SCADTA to thrive in a new frontier of aviation. By the mid-1920s, SCADTA started its first international routes covering destinations in Venezuela and the United States. In 1924, the aircraft that both Ernesto Cortissoz and Helmuth von Krohn were flying crashed into an area currently known as Bocas de Ceniza in Barranquilla, killing them. In the early 1940s, Peter von Bauer sold his shares in the airline to the US-owned Pan Am.
=== National Airways of Colombia (1940–1994) ===
On June 14, 1940, in the city of Barranquilla, SCADTA, under ownership by United States businessmen, merged with regional Colombian airline SACO, forming the new Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia S.A. or Avianca. Five Colombians participated in this: Rafael María Palacio, Jacobo A. Correa, Cristobal Restrepo, and Aristides Noguera, as well as German citizens Albert Teitjen, Werner Kämerer, and Stuart Hosie, while the post of first President of Avianca was filled by Martín del Corral. Avianca claims SCADTA's history as its own.
In 1946, Avianca began flights to Quito, Lima, Panama City, Miami, New York City and Europe, using Douglas DC-4s and C
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54 Skymasters. In 1951, Avianca acquired Lockheed Constellations and Super Constellations. In 1956, the company transported the Colombian delegation to the Melbourne Olympics on a 61-hour trip, stopping only to refuel.
During the 1960s, the company built the Avianca Building in Bogotá, designed by the architect Germán Samper, which was inaugurated in 1969 on the south side of Santander Park. In 1961, Avianca leased two Boeing 707s to operate its international routes, and on November 2, 1961, it acquired its own Boeing 720s. In 1976, Avianca became the first Latin American airline to continuously operate the Boeing 747. Three years later, it started operations with more 747s, including two Combi aircraft, mixing cargo and passenger operations.
In 1981, Avianca undertook the construction of a new exclusive terminal called the Terminal Puente Aéreo, which was eventually inaugurated by President Julio César Turbay Ayala. Avianca's original purpose for the terminal was for flights serving Cali, Medellín, Miami, and New York.
=== Merger system (1994–2002) ===
In 1994, Avianca, the regional carrier SAM and the helicopter operator Helicol merged, beginning Avianca's new system of operations. This arrangement allowed for specialized services in cargo (Avianca Cargo) and postal services, as well as a more modern fleet, made up of Boeing 767s, Boeing 757s, MD-83s, Fokker 50s, and Bell helicopters. In September 1996, Avianca Postal Services became Deprisa, which provided various mail services.
On December 10, 1998, Avianca officially opened its new hub in Bogotá, offering around 6,000 possible connections per week, and an increased number of frequencies, schedules, and destinations, taking advantage of the privileged geographical location of the country's capital, for the benefit of Colombian and international travelers between South America, Europe, and North America.
=== Summa Alliance (2002–2004) ===
After the September 11 attacks, Avianca, SAM, and their major rival ACES joined efforts to create the Alianza Summa, which began merged operations on May 20, 2002, to offer a more efficient service with concerns to quality, quantity, security and competition in a new struggling marketplace. However, adverse circumstances within the industry and markets forced the alliance to disband. In November 2003, the Alianza Summa was disbanded, ACES was liquidated altogether, and SAM was acquired to be a regional carrier under Avianca's brand.
=== Airways of the Americas (2004–2009) ===
On December 10, 2004, Avianca concluded a major reorganization process, undertaken after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, by obtaining confirmation of its reorganization plan, which was financially backed by the Brazilian consortium, Synergy Group and the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, allowing the airline to obtain funds for US$63 million, in the 13 months following withdrawal from bankruptcy.
Under this plan, Avianca was bought by Synergy Group and was consolidated with its subsidiaries OceanAir and VIP. The company's full legal name was changed from Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia (National Airways of Colombia) to Aerovías del Continente Americano (Airways of the continent of America), retaining the acronym Avianca. On February 28, 2005, Avianca presented its new logo and livery.
=== Avianca–TACA merger (2009–2013) ===
In October 2009, it was announced that Avianca would merge with TACA Airlines. This created AviancaTaca Holding, which instantly became one of the region's largest airlines, with 129 aircraft and flights to more than 100 destinations.
In November 2009, the airline's Chief Executive Fabio Villegas announced that the airline was looking to replace its Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 with newer aircraft of 100 seats or fewer. On January 1, 2011, the airline decided to retire the Fokker 100 in 2011 and replace them with 10 Airbus A318s leased from GECAS. The aircraft were delivered from February to April 2011.
==== Star Alliance ====
On November 10, 2010, Star Alliance announced that Avianca (and its merger counterpart, TACA) would be full members in 2012. Due to Avianca's entry into Star Alliance, it ended its codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines and began a new codeshare agreement with United Airlines. TACA has been codesharing with United Airlines since 2006. On June 21, 2012, Avianca and TACA were both officially admitted into Star Alliance.
=== Avianca Holdings (2013–2019) ===
On March 21, 2013, at the annual general meeting, the shareholders approved the change of corporate name from Av
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caTaca Holding to Avianca Holdings. TACA and all other AviancaTaca airlines changed their brand to Avianca on May 28, 2013.
As of 2017, Avianca operates the second-most daily international flights from Miami with 16, second only to American Airlines.
In August 2018, Avianca had some operational difficulties due to problems with the platform it used to assign crew schedules. This resulted in the cancellation of several flights within Colombia. Likewise, due to the stoppage of ACDAC pilots in 2017, all flight itineraries managed by the airline were restored only in October 2018.
On March 1, 2019, Avianca launched a subsidiary named Avianca Express, which operated ATR-72s on short regional flights within Colombia.
=== 2020 bankruptcy (2020–2021) ===
Avianca had significant financial liabilities in 2019. Because of this, they issued more debt to cover short-term liabilities and concluded a debt exchange on December 31, 2019. In response to the global outbreak of COVID-19, the Colombian government's lockdown suspended Avianca's domestic and international operations; most of the company’s 20,000 employees went without pay throughout this period, and the airline operated no scheduled passenger flights between late March and May outside of repatriation missions. As a result of this temporary cessation of business, the company saw 80% of its revenue stop.
Avianca Holdings and 23 affiliated debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 10, 2020, as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global shutdown, and their financial situation before and during the crisis. The airline holding liquidated its subsidiary Avianca Perú the same day. The debtors were granted joint administration of the cases under Case No. 20-11133. The airline had accumulated a total debt of USD 7.3 billion at the end of 2019.
Avianca implemented numerous cost-reduction plans during and following their bankruptcy including increasing the passenger capacity and redesigning the cabin of their Airbus A320s, simplifying their fleet to only the A320 family and Boeing 787, the latter of which will also feature an economy class cabin redesign, and introducing new, cheaper, and more competitive fares with increased options for flexibility including checked and carry-on bags, seat selection, and priority boarding.
In November 2021, Avianca Holdings announced they would move their legal address from Panama to the United Kingdom, and that they would change their name to Avianca Group. Their global headquarters remains in Bogotá. On November 2, 2021, Avianca's reorganization plan was approved by the court, and on December 1, 2021, more than a year and a half after filing, Avianca emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in its history.
=== Abra Group and Viva Air merger (2022–present) ===
On April 29, 2022, Avianca announced plans to acquire low-cost competitor Viva Air Colombia and its subsidiary Viva Air Perú. On May 11, 2022, it was announced that Avianca planned to merge with Viva Air, and Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes to form the Abra Group, and that Avianca would be the acquiring company. The merger was rejected by the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority in November 2022. Avianca stated that the rejection of the merger would not affect the plans for the Abra Group.
In September 2022, Ecuador's Superintendency for the Control of Market Power became the first government body to approve the merger. In December 2022, Avianca stated that they had reached all necessary agreements for the group bar "certain financing", and that they had obtained approval from regulatory bodies in Brazil and the United States. Avianca also stated that they do not need regulatory approval in Colombia because GOL has no presence in the country, and hence there would be no overlap in Colombia.
On January 19, 2023, the Ministry of Transport and Aerocivil formally annulled the November 2022 decision to reject the Avianca–Viva Air merger, citing "procedural irregularities" found within the first review process. A second review is due to take place in "an urgent manner", because the merger proposal was filed under "exception for a company in crisis", referencing Viva Air's financial situation.
On March 21, 2023, Aerocivil announced that it would approve the Avianca–Viva merger conditionally if the new entity complied with the following: to either refund or honor passengers' cancelled bookings made before Viva Air suspended operations; to return some in-demand slots at Bogotá's El Dorado Airport previously held by Viva Air; to maintain Viva Air's low-cost model for consumers within Colombia; to reinstate flights between Bogotá and Buenos Aires; to maintain a
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cap on routes where the entity is the only operator; and, as the new entity would hold a majority of the market share in Colombia, to ensure that the market remains dynamic.
On May 13, 2023, after analyzing the "financial and technical implications" of the merger under these conditions, Avianca withdrew its plans to acquire Viva Air, given the strict requirements of Aerocivil and the damage that these would have on the airline's economy.
In October 2023, the company announced a rebrand and changes to its business model. Avianca changed its name from Avianca to avianca, adjusting its operating model to a more low-cost-friendly one.
== Corporate affairs ==
Avianca's headquarters are on Avenida El Dorado and between Carrera 60 and Gobernación de Cundinamarca, located in the Ciudad Salitre area of Bogotá. The building is located next to the Gran Estación. Its previous head office was at Avenida El Dorado No. 93-30.
== Destinations ==
Avianca's main hub is located in Bogotá, at El Dorado International Airport with its focus cities in Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, San José, and Miami, in the latter of which Avianca is the largest foreign carrier by number of passengers.
=== Codeshare agreements ===
Avianca has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
=== Interline agreements ===
Avianca has interline agreements with the following airlines:
APG Airlines
French Bee
Norse Atlantic Airways.
Viva
== LifeMiles ==
The frequent-flyer program of Avianca and its subsidiaries is LifeMiles. This program is designed to reward customer loyalty in the airline, travel, and retail sectors. LifeMiles members can earn miles every time they fly with Avianca, Star Alliance member airlines, as well as GOL Airlines, Aeromexico and Iberia.
The program was launched in 2011 with the merger of Avianca and TACA, replacing its former AviancaPlus program. LifeMiles has been awarded 14 Freddie Awards for its outstanding performance and promotions in the Americas during the last 9 years.
LifeMiles has four elite tiers:
Red Plus (Star Alliance Silver)
Silver (Star Alliance Silver)
Gold (Star Alliance Gold)
Diamond (Star Alliance Gold)
== Fleet ==
=== Current fleet ===
As of March 2025, Avianca operates the following aircraft:
=== Fleet development ===
In March 2007 the airline ordered 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The first delivery of that aircraft type was on December 17, 2014, and its first service was on January 16, 2015, between Bogotá and New York City.
In 2015, Avianca signed an order for 100 A320neo family aircraft. At the beginning of March 2019, the airline had 20 A319neos, 92 A320neos, and 15 A321neos on order. In March 2019, the delivery of 17 Airbus A320neo family aircraft was cancelled, and deliveries of another 35 jets were rescheduled to 2026 to 2028, instead of 2020 to 2022.
In March 2022, the airline confirmed an order for 88 new A320neo with deliveries between 2025 and 2031.
In June 2023, it was reported that Avianca leased eight A320neos that belonged to the bankrupt airline Viva Air for delivery in 2023.
In September 2023, the airline disclosed plans to lease 14 Airbus A320neo planes and two A320ceo planes.
In February 2024, Avianca received one of the 3 Boeing 787-8s from Norwegian Air Shuttle. The airline said it wants to deviate from wet leases such as the one from Wamos Air and its A330; in addition, it wants to do it only with 787-8s owned by the company itself.
=== Former fleet ===
Since its founding, Avianca has operated a wide variety of aircraft:
== Accidents and incidents ==
The airline suffered a few incidents during the 1980s and early 1990s. The deadliest of those incidents was Avianca Flight 011, which crashed in 1983.
On January 22, 1947, a Douglas C-53B (registered C-108), crashed in the Magdalena River valley, killing all 17 people on board.
On August 9, 1954, a Lockheed L-749A (registered HK-163), crashed three minutes after takeoff from Lajes Field, Azores, after it flew left into the hills instead of right towards the sea. All 30 on board died.
On March 9, 1955, a Douglas C-47A (registered HK-328), crashed at Trujillo
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Colombia, killing all eight on board. The wreckage was found a month later, but some of the gold and cargo were missing.
On June 23, 1959, a Douglas DC-4 (registered HK-135), operating as Flight 667, struck Cerro Baco mountain while en route to Lima, Peru, killing all 14 aboard.
On January 21, 1960, Avianca Flight 671, a Lockheed L-1049E, crashed and burned on landing at Sangster International Airport in Jamaica, killing 37 aboard.
On March 22, 1965, a Douglas C-47DL, (registered HK-109), operating Flight 676, struck Pan de Azucar at an elevation of 7,200 feet (2,200 m), killing all 29 on board. The cause was the decision of the pilot to fly VFR in conditions that required IFR.
On January 15, 1966, Avianca Flight 03 crashed shortly after takeoff from Rafael Núñez International Airport. The cause was determined to be maintenance problems, possibly compounded by pilot error.
On September 22, 1966, a Douglas DC-4 (registered HK-174), operating Flight 870, crashed while attempting to return to Eldorado Airport due to engine problems, killing both pilots. The cause was traced to a failure in the governor control unit. Improper supervision by the company was a contributing factor, as the pilot was briefed to make a night flight while he was in conversion training for the L-749.
On December 24, 1966, a Douglas C-47A (registered HK-161), operating Flight 729, struck Cerro Las Animas at an elevation of 11,600 feet (3,500 m) while approaching Pasto, killing all 29 on board. A combination of poor CRM, pilot intoxication, deviation from route, and pilot error was cited as the cause.
On 26 April 1967, a Douglas C-47DL (registered HK-326) crashed after takeoff from Alberto Lleras Camargo Airport, killing 17 of 18 onboard.
On May 21, 1970, a Douglas DC-3, (registered HK-121), was hijacked to Yariguíes Airport, Barrancabermeja whilst on a flight from El Alcaraván Airport, Yopal to Alberto Lleras Camargo Airport, Sogamoso. The hijackers had demanded to be taken to Cuba.
On July 29, 1972, two Douglas DC-3A, registered HK-107 and HK-1341, were involved in a mid-air collision over the Las Palomas Mountains. Both aircraft crashed, killing 21 people on HK-107 and 17 people on HK-1341. Both aircraft were operating domestic scheduled passenger flights from La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio to El Alcaraván Airport, Yopal.
On August 22, 1973, a Douglas DC-3A (registered HK-111), crashed into a hill near the Casanare Department, killing 16 of the 17 people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio to El Alcaraván Airport, Yopal.
On August 12, 1974, a Douglas C-47 (registered HK-508) flew into Trujillo Mountain, killing all 27 people on board. The aircraft was on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from El Dorado Airport, Bogotá to La Florida Airport, Tumaco.
On November 27, 1983, Avianca Flight 011(1983), a Boeing 747-200M (registered HK-2910X) crashed into a mountain just short of landing at Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, killing 181 of the 192 people aboard. The cause was determined to be pilot error.
On March 17, 1988, Avianca Flight 410, a Boeing 727-100 (registered HK-1716) crashed into low mountains near Cúcuta - Norte de Santander Department after take-off, killing all 143 on board. It was determined that pilot error was also the cause of this crash, in a situation similar to Flight 011.
On November 27, 1989, a bomb destroyed Avianca Flight 203. All 107 passengers and crew and 3 people on the ground were killed. The bombing had been ordered by Pablo Escobar to kill presidential candidate César Gaviria Trujillo. In the aftermath, it was discovered that Gaviria had not boarded the aircraft.
On January 25, 1990, Avianca Flight 052, a Boeing 707-320C (registered HK-2016) en route from Bogotá to New York City via Medellín crashed in Cove Neck, New York, after running out of fuel while in a holding pattern for at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 73 of the 158 people aboard.
On April 26, 1990, 19th of April Movement presidential candidate Carlos Pizarro was gunned
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during a domestic Avianca flight.
On April 12, 1999, Avianca Flight 9463, a Fokker 50 (registered PH-MXT), from Bogotá to Bucaramanga was hijacked by six ELN members, who forced the plane to make an emergency landing on a clandestine runway in the Bolívar Department. One passenger died during captivity, the rest were eventually liberated a year after the hijacking.
== Awards and recognitions ==
In its recent history, the company has won different awards:
2010: E-Commerce Company of the Year – eCommerce Awards Colombia.
2012: Best Company in Customer Service Labor and Management – Ibero-American Social Media Awards.
2013: Best Company in Customer Service Labor and Management – Ibero-American Social Media Awards.
2013: South American Airlines with Best Onboard Service – Skytrax World Airline Awards.
2014: Best E-commerce Initiative in Colombia – Colombia Online Awards.
2015: Best Airline in South America – World Travel Awards.
2016: Best Airline in South America and Latin America – Business Traveler North America Magazine.
2017: Best Airline in South America – Business Traveler Awards.
2017: Best Airline in South America and Best Regional Airline in South America – Skytrax World Airline Awards.
2017: Best Mobile Initiative for eCommerce – eCommerce Awards.
2017: Second-best airline in the world – Consumers and Users Organization.
2018: Best Airline in South America – Skytrax World Airline Awards.
2018: Best Regional Airline in South America – Airline Passenger Experience APEX.
== See also ==
List of airlines of Colombia
All pages with titles beginning with Avianca
== References ==
== External links ==
Media related to Avianca at Wikimedia Commons
Official website (in Spanish)
September 2012 Issue of Explore Taca
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Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, US also ; Greek: Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, romanized: Aristotélis Onásis, pronounced [aristoˈtelis oˈnasis]; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was married to Athina Mary Livanos, had a long-standing affair with opera singer Maria Callas and was married to American former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Onassis was born in Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire to Greek parents and fled the city with his family to Greece in 1922 in the wake of the burning of Smyrna. He moved to Argentina in 1923 and established himself as a tobacco trader and later a shipping owner during the Second World War. Moving to Monaco, Onassis fought Prince Rainier III for economic control of the country through his ownership of SBM and its Monte Carlo Casino. In the mid-1950s, he sought to secure an oil shipping arrangement with Saudi Arabia and engaged in whaling expeditions. In the 1960s, Onassis attempted to establish a large investment contract—Project Omega—with the Greek military junta and sold Olympic Airways, which he had founded in 1957. He was greatly affected by the death of his son, Alexander, in 1973 and died two years later.
== Early life ==
=== Ottoman Empire ===
Aristotle Socrates Onassis was born in 1906 in Karataş, a suburb of the Ottoman port city of Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey) in Anatolia to Greek parents, Socrates Onassis and Penelope Dologlou. Aristotle had one sister, Artemis, and two half-sisters, Kalliroi and Merope, by his father's second marriage following Penelope's death (1912). Socrates Onassis became a successful shipping entrepreneur and sent his children to prestigious schools. When Aristotle graduated from the local Evangelical Greek School at the age of 16, he spoke four languages: Greek (his native language), Turkish, Spanish, and English.
Smyrna was occupied by Greece (1919–1922) in the aftermath of the Allied victory in World War I, but then Smyrna was re-taken by Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22). The Onassis family's substantial property holdings were lost, causing them to become refugees fleeing to Greece after the Great fire of Smyrna in 1922. During this period, Onassis lost three uncles, an aunt and her husband, Chrysostomos Konialidis and their daughter, who were burned to death in a church in Akhisar where 500 Christians were seeking shelter from the Great Fire of Smyrna. The Asia Minor catastrophe in 1922 was devastating for the Onassis family. His father was imprisoned and his business was transferred to Turkish ownership. The rest of the family fled to Greece where they had to stay in an outdoor refugee camp.
=== Argentina ===
In 1923, Onassis returned to Istanbul with $250 in his pocket. In August of that year, he arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by Nansen passport, and got his first job as a telephone operator with the British United River Plate Telephone Company, while following studies in commerce and port-duty administration at Aduanas Argentinas. He later became an entrepreneur, creating an Argentine import-export company, going into business for himself and making a fortune importing English-Turkish tobacco to Argentina. He reportedly told Maria Callas that he made his fortune in Buenos Aires by forming a shipping company used for trafficking heroin. He obtained Argentine citizenship in 1929. Eventually he established his first shipping trading company in Buenos Aires, Astilleros Onassis. After gaining his first fortune in Argentina, he expanded his shipping business worldwide and relocated to New York City, United States, where he built up his shipping businesses empire while keeping offices in Buenos Aires and Athens. His legacy in Buenos Aires was the creation of a shipping empire and a Hellenic Culture Fund providing youth scholarships and an academic international exchange program between Argentina, Greece, Monaco and the United States; the programs are funded and administered by the Onassis Foundation and were eventually under the managing direction of his daughter Christina Onassis.
== Business ==
=== Shipping ===
Onassis built up a fleet of freighters and tankers that eventually exceeded seventy vessels. Most of the fleet operated under flags of convenience where laws and regulations are looser than those of the owners' country. More austere regulations in countries such as the United States, which afforded higher wages and safety standards, allowed access to domestic routes with higher freight rates but at far greater running expense. As was then common practice in international shipping, Onassis's fleet had mostly Panamanian and Liberian flags and sailed tax-
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while operating at low cost. This and his astute business sense helped Onassis earn handsome profits in the highly competitive shipping market. Onassis made large profits when the Big Oil companies like Mobil, Socony, and Texaco signed long-term contracts known as time charters at fixed prices before the stock market fell.
The high profitability of the Onassis fleet has been attributed in large part to his disregard for standards that normally govern international shipping. For example, after his Liberian-registered tanker SS Arrow ran aground and spilled oil into Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia in 1970, still the most significant oil spill off Canada's East Coast (about 25% of the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska in 1989), there was a Commission of Inquiry. Led by Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, executive director of the Science Council of Canada, the Commission found that the Arrow had been operating with almost none of its navigation equipment serviceable: "radar had ceased to function an hour before the ship struck; the echo sounder had not been in working condition for two months; and the gyrocompass... had a permanent error of three degrees west. The officer on watch at the time of the accident, the ship's third officer, "had no license" and none of the crew had any navigational skill except the master, "and there are even doubts about his ability."
=== Monaco ===
Onassis arrived in the Mediterranean principality of Monaco in 1953 and began to purchase the shares of Monaco's Société des bains de mer de Monaco (SBM) via the use of front companies in the tax haven of Panama, and took control of the organisation in the summer of that year. Onassis moved his headquarters into the Old Sporting Club on Monaco's Avenue d'Ostende shortly after taking control of the SBM. The SBM was a significant owner of property in Monaco: its assets included the Monte Carlo Casino, the Monaco Yacht Club, the Hôtel de Paris and a third of the country's acreage. Onassis's takeover of the SBM was initially welcomed by Monaco's ruler, Prince Rainier III, as the country required investment, but Onassis and Rainier's relationship had deteriorated by 1962 in the wake of the boycott of Monaco by the French President, Charles de Gaulle.
Onassis and Rainier had differing visions for Monaco. Onassis wished the country to remain a resort for an exclusive clientele, but Rainier wished to build hotels and attract a greater number of tourists. Monaco had become less attractive as a tax haven in the wake of France's actions, and Rainier urged Onassis to invest in the construction of hotels. Onassis was reluctant to invest in hotels without a guarantee from Rainier that no other competing hotel development would be permitted, but promised to build two hotels and an apartment block. Unwilling to give Onassis his guarantee, Rainier used his veto to cancel the entire hotel project, and publicly attacked SBM for their 'bad faith' on television, implicitly criticising Onassis. Rainier and Onassis remained at odds over the direction of the company for several years and in June 1966 Rainier approved a plan to create 600,000 new shares in SBM to be permanently held by the state, which reduced Onassis's stake from 52% to under a third. In the Supreme Court of Monaco the share creation was challenged by Onassis who claimed that it was unconstitutional, but the court found against him in March 1967. Following the ruling Onassis sold his holdings in SBM to the state of Monaco and left the country. According to Frank Brady in Onassis: An Extravagant Life, Onassis's words about the issue were: "We were gypped."
=== Saudi Arabia ===
During the oil boom of the 1950s Onassis was in final discussions with the King of Saudi Arabia for securing a tanker transport deal. Since the Arabian-American Oil Co. (currently, Saudi Arabian Oil Company, but still known as Aramco) had a monopoly on Saudi oil by a concession agreement, the US government was alarmed by the tanker deal. By 1954, a specific U.S. policy for Saudi Arabia, in addition to strengthening the US "special position," was to take "all appropriate measures to bring about the cancellation" of an agreement between the Saudi government and Onassis to transport Saudi oil on his tankers and "in any case, to make the agreement ineffective". [Doc. 128] The arrangement would have ended monopoly control of Saudi Arabia's oil by American oil companies, but was forestalled by the US government.
For this reason he became a target of the US government and in 1954, the FBI investigated Onassis for fraud against the U.S. government. He was charged with violating the citizenship provision of the shipping laws which require that all ships displaying the U.S. flag be owned by U.S. citizens. Onassis entered a guilty plea and paid $7
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It is alleged that Robert Maheu, a former FBI agent, worked for then US Vice President Richard Nixon on an operation aimed at ruining Onassis. Maheu helped the U.S. government sabotage a deal that had given Onassis a monopoly to transport Saudi oil. As part of his mission, Maheu was reportedly even allowed, if necessary, to kill Onassis. After a meeting with Maheu about Onassis, Nixon reportedly whispered, “And just remember, if it turns out we have to kill the bastard don’t do it on American soil.”
=== Whaling ===
Between 1950 and 1956, Onassis had success whaling off the west coast of South America. His first expedition made a net profit of US$4.5 million. International agreements limited the number, size and dates between which whales could be taken. The Onassis factory ship and its attendant catcher ships paid little attention to these restrictions. The Norwegian Whaling Gazette made accusations based on sailors' testimonials, such as one given by Bruno Schalaghecke, who worked on the factory ship Olympic Challenger: "Pieces of fresh meat from the 124 whales we killed yesterday still remains on the deck. Among them all, just one could be considered adult. All animals that pass within the range of the harpoon are killed in cold blood."
In 1954 the government of Peru claimed the Onassis fleet were whaling within 320 kilometres (200 mi) of the coast of Peru without permission and sent naval vessels to intercept them. Peruvian air force planes were also sent and dropped bombs that exploded near the factory ship. Most vessels in the fleet were captured by the Peruvian vessels and taken to Payta where they were interned.
The venture came to an end after the business was sold to Kyokuyo Hogei Kaisha Whaling Company, one of the biggest Japanese whaling companies, for $8.5 million. Norwegian authorities suspected the involvement of Hjalmar Schacht in Onassis's whaling enterprises. Schacht had previously been connected with Onassis's Saudi Arabian deals.
=== Olympic Airways ===
In 1956, Greek airlines in general faced economic difficulties, whereby companies like TAE were affected by strikes and cash shortage. The Greek government decided to give this and other companies to the private sector, and, on 30 July 1956, Onassis signed a contract granting him the operational rights to the Greek air transport industry. When Onassis heard during the negotiations that he would not be able to use the five Olympic rings in his logo due to copyright issues, he simply decided to add a sixth ring.
Operation effectively started in 1957, with one DC-4, two DC-6s and 13 DC-3s. The following year saw 244,000 passengers transported. The agreement lasted until 10 December 1974, when a number of factors (namely, a series of strikes, shortage of passengers, fuel price increase, and a law from the new Greek government forbidding Olympic Airways to fire employees) led Onassis to terminate his contract.
Following this event, Paul Ioannidis, a high-ranking director from Olympic Airways, said the following of Onassis: "Deep down, [he] did not want to relinquish Olympic Airways. He found it flattering to own an airline. It was something in which he took deep pride. It was his accomplishment. He was married to the sea, but Olympic was his mistress. We used to say that he would spend all the money he made at sea with his mistress in the sky."
Onassis's time at the head of Olympic Airways is known as a golden era, due to investments he made in training and the acquisition of cutting-edge technology. For example, in 1959, he signed a deal with De Havilland to buy four Comet 4B jets. Onassis was also renowned for his attention to service quality, which led him to buy gold-plated utensils and candles for the dining service of the first-class section.
During 1974, the last year of Onassis's involvement with the company, Olympic Airways transported 2.5 million passengers and had a work force of 7,356 persons. At the time, his ownership of Olympic Airways distinguished Onassis as one of only two men in the world to own a private airline, the other being Howard Hughes of TWA.
=== Investments ===
Onassis was involved in the privatization of the Greek national airline and founded the privatized Olympic Airways (today Olympic Air) in 1957.
Stocks accounted for one-third of his capital, held in oil companies in the United States, the Middle East, and Venezuela. He also owned additional shares that secured his control of 95 multinational businesses in five continents. He owned gold-processing plants in Argentina and Uruguay and a large share in an airline in Latin America and $4 million worth of investments in Brazil. Also, he owned companies like Olympic Maritime and Olympic Tourist; a chemical company in
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; apartments in Paris, London, Monte Carlo, Athens, and Acapulco; a castle in South France; the Olympic Tower (a 52-storey high-rise in Manhattan); another building in Sutton Place; Olympic Airways and Air Navigation; the island of Skorpios; the 325 ft (99.06 m) luxury yacht Christina O and, finally, deposit accounts and accounts in treasuries in 217 banks in the whole world.
=== Project Omega ===
In October 1968, amidst the Greek military junta and shortly after his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy, Onassis announced the launch of Project Omega, a $400 million investment program that aimed to build considerable industrial infrastructure in Greece including an oil refinery and aluminum smelter. Onassis had cultivated Greek junta dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, for his assistance with the scheme, loaning Papadopoulos the use of his villa and buying dresses for his wife. The project was financially supported by the American bank First National City, and Onassis's American financial supporters eventually tired of the unfavourable terms demanded by him. The project was heavily criticized by people such as Helen Vlachos, a journalist from Athens. Another Greek Colonel, Nikolaos Makarezos, preferred a deal offered by Onassis's rival, Stavros Niarchos, and the project was eventually split between them. The failure was due partly to opposition from influential people within the military junta, such as Ioannis-Orlandos Rodinos, Deputy Minister of Economic Coordination, who opposed Onassis's offers in preference to Niarchos.
== Relationships and family ==
=== Athina Livanos ===
Onassis married Athina Mary "Tina" Livanos, daughter of shipping magnate Stavros G. Livanos and Arietta Zafiraki, on 28 December 1946. Livanos was 17 at the time of their marriage; Onassis was 40. Onassis and Livanos had two children, both born in New York City: a son, Alexander (1948–1973), and a daughter, Christina (1950–1988). Onassis named his legendary super-yacht, Christina O, after his daughter. To Onassis, his marriage to Athina was more than the fulfillment of his ambitions. He also felt that the marriage dealt a blow to his father-in-law and the old-money Greek traditionalists who held Onassis in very low esteem. The couple had been living separately, by the mid-1950s, with the beginning of the end of the marriage, according to Onassis' biographer, Peter Evens, coming after Livanos found Onassis in bed with a friend of hers at their home in Cap d'Antibes, the Château de la Croë. The house was then acquired by Onassis's brother-in-law and business rival Stavros Niarchos, who bought it for his wife, Eugenia Livanos, Athina's sister. Onassis and Livanos divorced in June 1960, during Onassis's well publicised affair with Maria Callas. Athina would later marry, in October 1971, her older sister Eugenia's widower Stavros Niarchos, who was her first husband Onassis's arch-rival.
=== Maria Callas ===
Onassis and legendary opera soprano Maria Callas carried on an affair, despite both being married. They met in 1957, during a party in Venice promoted by Elsa Maxwell. After this first encounter, Onassis commented to Spyros Skouras: "There [was] just a natural curiosity. After all, we were the most famous Greeks alive, in the world." Callas and Onassis both divorced their spouses but did not marry each other, although their relationship continued for many years.
=== Jacqueline Kennedy ===
Onassis was a friend of Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. They married on 20 October 1968 on Onassis's private Greek island, Skorpios.
Before the marriage, an agreement was reached between Onassis and Ted Kennedy, Jacqueline's former brother-in-law. Jacqueline would receive US $3 million, plus US $1 million for each of her two children, to compensate for the US $150,000 that she then received from the Kennedy family trust, which she would lose by re-marrying. Upon Onassis's death, she would also continue to receive US $150,000 each year for the rest of her life.
After Onassis's death, Christina settled with Jacqueline for $25 million, in exchange for her not contesting Onassis's will.
During their marriage, the Onassises inhabited six residences: his apartment in Paris (88 Avenue Foch), her 15-room apartment at 1040 Fifth Avenue in New York City, her horse farm in New Jersey, his house in Athens, his
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on Skorpios and his yacht Christina O.
His marriage also resulted, in part, in the popularization of Gyros in America. Gyros were one of his favorite foods and Greek places in New York City began to regularly offer them for lunch because of the demand from Aristotle's work meetings. Previously Gyros were little known beyond the Greek-American community.
== Death and legacy ==
Onassis died at age 69 on 15 March 1975 at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, of respiratory failure, a complication of the myasthenia gravis from which he had suffered the last years of his life. Onassis was buried on his island of Skorpios in Greece, alongside his son, Alexander, and his sister, Artemis. Onassis's will established a charitable foundation in memory of his son, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, which received 45% of Onassis's estate. The remainder of his estate was left to his daughter, Christina. Christina's share has since passed to her only child, Athina, at the time making Athina one of the wealthiest women in the world.
Jacqueline Onassis also received her share of the estate, settling for a reported $10 million ($26 million according to other sources), which was negotiated by her brother-in-law Ted Kennedy. This amount would reportedly grow to several hundred million, under the financial stewardship of her companion, Maurice Tempelsman.
The Boeing 727, which transported Onassis's remains, was later purchased for US $100,000 by an American electrical engineer and turned into an unconventional private residence in Hillsboro, Oregon.
== See also ==
Onassis Foundation
Greek shipping
Skorpios
Christina O
Stavros Niarchos
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Collective Work (2023). Harlaftis, Gelina (ed.). The History of Onassis Enterprises 1924-1975 (in Greek). Heraklion: Crete University Press. Onassis Foundation. Institute for Mediterranean Studies – Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH). ISBN 978-960-524-918-2.
Harlaftis, Gelina (2019). Creating Global Shipping: Aristotle Onassis, the Vagliano Brothers and the Business of Shipping, c.1820-1970 (Hardback). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108475396.
Harlaftis, Gelina (2014). "The Onassis Global Shipping Business: 1920s–1950s". Business History Review. 88 (2). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press: 241–271. doi:10.1017/S0007680514000026. S2CID 154649095.
Theotokas, Ioannis; Harlaftis, Gelina (2009). Leadership in World Shipping: Greek Family Firms in International Business. Houndmills Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-57642-1.
Foustanos, George M. (2006). Onassis Pioneer in Shipping (in Greek and English). Athens: Argo. pp. 1–371. ISBN 960-89400-0-1.
Evans, Peter (2004). Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought Down the Kennedys. William Morrow. pp. 1–336. ISBN 9780060580537.
Gage, Nicholas (2000). Greek Fire, The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0375402449.
Evans, Peter (1987). Ari: The Life, Times and Women of Aristotle Onassis. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-009961-4.
== External links ==
Onassis Foundation official website
Onassis Foundation Archived from the original on 24 June 2015.
FBI file on Onassis
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Stansted Airport (IATA: STN, ICAO: EGSS) is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, 42 miles (68 km; 36 nmi) northeast of Central London.
As London's third-busiest airport, Stansted serves over 180 destinations across Europe, Asia and North Africa. London Stansted is a base for a number of European low-cost carriers. This includes being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair, with over 150 destinations served by the airline. As of 2022, it is the fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, it ranked second in the country. Stansted's runway is also used by private companies such as the Harrods Aviation, Titan Airways, and XJet terminals, which are private ground handlers that can handle private flights, charter flights, and state visits.
Converted to civil use from RAF Stansted Mountfitchet in the late 1940s, Stansted was used by charter airlines. It came under British Airports Authority control in 1966. The privatised
BAA sold Stansted in February 2013 to Manchester Airports Group as a result of a March 2009 ruling by the Competition Commission against BAA's monopoly position.
The airport has one main passenger terminal which opened in 1991, with three passenger satellites containing the departure gates. The terminal building was designed by Foster and Partners and is regarded as influential for airport architecture.
From 1997 to 2007, Stansted had rapid expansion of passenger numbers on the back of the boom in low-cost air travel, peaking at 24 million passengers in the 12 months to October 2007, but passenger numbers declined in the next five years. Passenger totals later increased, and in 2016 recorded an annual increase of 8.0% to 24.3 million, and numbers have since continued to rise.
== History ==
=== Second World War ===
The airfield opened in early July 1943 with a dedication ceremony for the Stansted Airfield with a parade of builders, the 825th Engineer Aviation Battalion EAB and the 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion EAB of the United States Army, along with a small group of the British Royal Engineers who offered to help and wanted to learn how to operate the heavy construction equipment. Stansted Mountfitchet Airport was used during the Second World War as RAF Stansted Mountfitchet by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber airfield and as a major maintenance depot. Although the official name was Stansted Mountfitchet, the base was known as simply Stansted in both written and spoken form.
The station was first allocated to the USAAF Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a heavy-bomber airfield. As well as an operational bomber base, Stansted was also an Air Technical Services Command maintenance and supply depot concerned with major overhauls and modification of B-26s. After D-Day, these activities were transferred to France, but the base was still used as a supply storage area for the support of aircraft on the continent.
=== Postwar use ===
After the withdrawal of the Americans on 12 August 1945, Stansted was taken over by the Air Ministry and used by No. 263 Maintenance Unit, RAF, for storage purposes. In addition, between March 1946 and August 1947, Stansted was used for housing German prisoners of war.
In November 1946, the recently established British cargo airline, London Aero and Motor Services, equipped with ex-RAF Handley Page Halifaxes, moved into Stansted, using it as a base for its operations until it was wound up in July 1948.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation finally took control of Stansted in 1949 and the airport was then used as a base by several UK charter airlines. The US military returned in 1954 to extend the runway for a possible transfer to NATO. The transfer to NATO was never realised, however, and the airport continued in civil use, ending up under BAA control in 1966.
During the 1960s, '70s, and early '80s, the Fire Service Training School was based on the eastern side of the airfield under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, now the Civil Aviation Authority. The school was responsible for the training of all aviation fire crews for British airfields, as well as those of many overseas countries.
=== Under BAA ownership (1966–2013) ===
Beginning in 1966, after Stansted was placed under BAA control, the airport was used by holiday charter operators wishing to escape the higher costs associated with operating from Heathrow and Gatwick.
Stansted had been held in reserve as a third London airport since the 1950s. However, after a public inquiry at Chelmsford in 1966–67, the government set up the Ros
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Commission to review the need afresh. The Commission for the Third London Airport (the "Roskill Commission") of 1968–71 did not include Stansted as one of its four short-listed sites and recommended that Cublington in Buckinghamshire should be developed as London's third airport. However, the Conservative government under Ted Heath agreed with a minority recommendation that a site at Foulness in the Thames Estuary, later renamed Maplin, should be developed, but in 1974, the incoming Labour government under Harold Wilson cancelled the Maplin project because of the economic situation.
Stansted was then considered as an option for long-term development in the Advisory Committee on Airports Policy and the Study Group on South East Airports and was selected from a short list of six by the Conservative government in December 1979. The proposal, for a new terminal associated with the existing runway and the safeguarding of land for a second runway, was considered at the Airports Inquiries of 1981–83. The Inspector's Report was published in 1984 and the decision, announced in a white paper in 1985, was to approve a plan to develop Stansted in two phases, involving both airfield and terminal improvements that would increase the airport's capacity to 15 million passengers per year, but to reject the second runway.
==== Redevelopment into London's third airport ====
The redevelopment of Stansted into London's third airport began with outline planning permission granted in 1985, for a new terminal building to accommodate up to 15 million passengers annually.
Initially, the project was planned in two phases. The first phase was designed to permit an annual capacity of 8 million passengers, while the second phase was intended to expand the terminal's capacity to 15 million passengers per annum. It was initially believed that any future development beyond this capacity would require the construction of a second major terminal building.
==== Foster Associates terminal ====
Foster Associates, founded by architect Norman Foster, was commissioned to design the new terminal building, with structural engineering led by Peter Rice at principal engineers Ove Arup & Partners. The plans were approved in 1985, and construction took place between 1988 and 1991 by the John Laing company at a cost of £100 million. The terminal building originally comprised a square structure of 11 bays by 11 bays, and opened to the public in 1991. It received the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture (Mies van der Rohe Award) in 1990. As part of the development, a railway branch was built to the airport for Stansted Airport railway station, built at ground level within the terminal.
The building was recognised as a landmark work of high-tech architecture. Foster + Partners' design for Stansted Airport is widely regarded as a transformative influence on airport architecture. The building features open canopies that visually connect the landside and airside, and challenged conventional airport layouts by relocating essential services underground, instead creating an open and flexible main concourse that is naturally illuminated. The "floating" roof, supported by a space frame of inverted-pyramid roof trusses, creates the impression of a stylised swan in flight. The base of each truss structure is a "utility pillar", which provides indirect uplighting illumination and is the location for air-conditioning, water, telecommunications, and electrical outlets. The layout of the airport was originally designed to provide an unobstructed flow for passengers to arrive at the short-stay car park, move through the check-in hall, and go through security and on to the departure gates, all on the same level. These principles influenced the design of future projects around the world.
In 1999, planning permission was granted for Phase 2 of the terminal expansion, which included extending the width to 15 bays, as well as the addition of the third satellite building.
==== Further developments ====
A major expansion programme to the terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, extending the width by 2 bays, with nearly 5,900 m2 (64,000 sq ft) of floorspace, to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall.
In November 2006, Uttlesford District Council rejected a BAA planning application to increase the permitted number of aircraft movements and to remove the limit on passenger numbers. BAA immediately appealed against the decision and a public inquiry opened, lasting from May until October 2007. Planning Inspector Alan Boyland made his recommendations in January 2008. Those recommendations were largely followed by the Secretary of State for Transport (Geoff Hoon) and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears), who jointly allowed the applicant's appeal in October 2008. A legal challenge by community campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion was rejected by the High Court in March 2009.
The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years. The ruling was quashed within a year following an appeal, but was subsequently upheld. The Competition Commission reconfirmed
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ruling in July 2011 that the airport be sold, and the Court of Appeal turned down an appeal by BAA on 26 July 2012. In light of the result, BAA chose not to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and confirmed on 20 August 2012 that the airport would be sold.
=== Under MAG ownership (2013–) ===
In January 2013 it was announced that MAG (Manchester Airports Group) had agreed to purchase London Stansted Airport for £1.5 billion. The sale was completed on 28 February 2013.
MAG announced on 20 June 2013 as part of a visit to the airport by the Secretary of State for Transport that it would be launching an £80 million terminal redevelopment programme. MAG has invested £40 million and the remainder was invested by other commercial partners. The redevelopment included relocation of the security area, doubling the amount of seating, and improving the information displays. The new Departure Lounge offers a food court, new shops, and an Escape Lounge.
In 2017, Antonov Airlines opened a UK office at Stansted for cargo charter flights, generally of outsize loads.
==== COVID-19 pandemic and recovery ====
The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on London Stansted Airport, leading to a significant reduction in passenger numbers and operational challenges. In 2020, the airport served just over 7.5 million passengers, a large decline from its pre-pandemic levels of around 28 million annually. At the height of the crisis, Stansted experienced a 95% drop in passenger footfall compared to 2019. Cargo operations, however, saw a 53% increase as the airport adapted to new demands. Airport authorities described the situation as an unprecedented crisis, likening the passenger levels to those seen in the early 1990s.
As travel restrictions began to ease in July 2021, London Stansted Airport experienced widespread disruption as passenger numbers surged during the summer holidays. The airport faced staff shortages and increased COVID-19 documentation requirements, leading to long queues and chaotic scenes, with insufficient personnel available to manage the crowds effectively. The airport showed signs of recovery by late 2022, with passenger levels nearing 97% of pre-pandemic volumes.
In the wake of this recovery, in 2023 Stansted Airport announced a £1.1 billion expansion plan including a £600 million extension of the terminal and facilities, to increase its capacity to serve up to 43 million passengers per year. This expansion is expected to add 200 flights per day to the airport's schedule and create over 5,000 jobs over the next five years.
== Infrastructure ==
=== Terminal and satellite buildings ===
The terminal is separated into three general areas: Check-in and main concourse along the front, departures towards the southern end, and international arrivals to the northern end of the building. There is a separate baggage reclaim for Domestic arrivals. No gates are in the main terminal building; instead, they are located in three separate oblong satellite buildings, one connected to the main terminal by air bridges, one by the Stansted Airport Transit System people mover, and one by both. Four further bussing gates are accessed from below the main terminal building. The airport has 52 gates with 12 serviceable jetbridges. Long-term plans for Satellite 4, approved in 1999 and revised in 2005, have not been realised, but its site was developed as remote stands in 2018.
As of 2013, Satellite 1 (Gates 1-19) had been redeveloped with the aim to attract more long-haul airlines to Stansted. Furthermore, a dual jetbridge has been added at Stand 13 (Boarding Gate 12), allowing faster boarding and deboarding of wide-body aircraft. An additional building, known as the Advanced Passenger Vehicle (APV), was brought back into use in 2016 for flights departing during the busy 06:00 to 09:00 period. The APV building is linked to the main terminal building by an accessible route and acts as a bus terminal for international flights at remote stands. Prior to the completion of Satellite 3, this terminal (then consisted of gates 90–95) was in regular passenger use.
Domestic arrivals (from the UK) use a separate exit route, located at the opposite end of the Terminal to the International arrivals hall. This exit is connected solely by footbridge from Satellite 2 gates 81–88. When a domestic flight arrives at a gate which is not located in Satellite 2, passengers are transported to a gate on Satellite 2 by a courtesy bus service from the aircraft.
Common Travel Area arrivals are coached from stand, and taken to a separate entrance located at the North East of the terminal which leads to the main terminal baggage reclaim belts, bypassing Border Force, but without bypassing Customs.
=== Car parks ===
Stansted has a variety of car parking including long-, mid-, and short-stay options along with valet and meet-and-greet parking services. Two drop off areas also are available. The express area is located
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the short-stay car park, while a free service is within the mid-stay area. A fee is charged for the express service. Terminal Road North and its free drop-off area directly outside the terminal was closed shortly after MAG took over the airport in 2013.
=== Control tower ===
Stansted's air traffic control tower was completed in 1996 and was the tallest in Britain at the time of its construction. It is located on the southside of the airfield alongside the main terminal building. It replaced the old control tower, which offered poor views of the airfield once the current terminal building was opened in 1991.
=== Cargo handling ===
There are several cargo buildings and hangars around the airfield. The main cargo centre is located by the control tower and handles most cargo operations, including aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and the Boeing 747. There are a small number of hangars on the other side of the runway to the rest of the airport. The largest are located at the south east of the airfield, one of which is used by Ryanair.
=== Other facilities ===
Titan Airways has its head office in the Enterprise House on the airport property. Several airlines at one time had their head offices on the airport property. AirUK (later KLM uk) had its head office in the Stansted House. When Buzz existed, its head office was in the Endeavour House. When AB Airlines existed, its head office was in the Enterprise House. For a period Lloyd International Airways had its head office at the Lloyd House at Stansted. When Go Fly existed its head office was at the Enterprise House.
Since 2004, Stansted also offers a range of hotel accommodation including Holiday Inn Express, Novotel, Premier Inn, and Radisson Blu hotels and the recently opened Hampton by Hilton, the last two of which are both within two minutes of the terminal building via an undercover walkway. Regular bus service handles transfers between the terminal building and Stansted's car parks and hotels.
== Proposed developments ==
=== Runway ===
==== Plans for a second runway ====
On 11 March 2008, BAA submitted a planning application (titled "G2") to expand the airport by 3 sq mi (8 km2) and for the construction of a second runway and terminal, etc., in line with a recommendation in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper (ATWP). This would have been the subject of a public inquiry, and if approved, would have allowed Stansted to handle more passengers than Heathrow did at the time of the application.
In May 2010, BAA withdrew its plans to build a second runway at Stansted and withdrew the plans to build a new runway at Heathrow.
The ATWP had anticipated that a second runway would be operational by 2011, but this date continued to slip. BAA's 2008 planning application envisaged operation commencing in 2015, and in 2009, BAA revised the anticipated opening date to 2017.
Prior to the United Kingdom's May 2010 general election, all three major political parties pledged not to approve a second runway. Soon after the election, the new government confirmed this, and BAA withdrew its application for planning permission, having spent nearly £200 million preparing for the public inquiry and buying up properties.
The public inquiry into BAA's second runway application had been scheduled to start on 15 April 2009, but the start was delayed by Secretary of State Hazel Blears to allow time for BAA and the government to consider the implications of the March 2009 Competition Commission's ruling that BAA must sell Stansted within two years. As 2011 drew to a close, BAA was still appealing against the Competition Commission ruling. On 20 August 2012, after losing a case at the Court of Appeal, BAA agreed to cease challenging the Competition Commission's ruling and to sell Stansted.
On 10 February 2010, Secretary of State John Denham, in an open letter, concluded that the inquiry could not reasonably start until after the general election. In addition, he commented that the planning application documents were nearly two years old and would require updating. Eventually, BAA realised the futility of pursuing its G2 application in the context of the new government policy and withdrew it on 24 May 2010.
==== Stop Stansted Expansion ====
The advocacy group Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) was formed in 2002, as a working group of the North West Essex and East Herts Preservation Association, in response to the Government's consultation on expanding UK airports and, particularly, runway expansion plans for Stansted Airport subsequently defined in the Air Transport white paper in December 2003. In September 2012, as a result of pressure from the aviation industry, the government set up the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to consider what, if anything, needed to be done to maintain the UK's status as a global aviation hub. The commission concluded that an additional runway would be required for South East England and that it should be added
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either Heathrow or Gatwick. Following the 2015 election, the commission made a final recommendation to expand Heathrow subject to certain environmental constraints.
=== Terminal ===
==== Ongoing Terminal extension ====
In July 2023, MAG announced a new proposal for a reconfiguration and three-bay extension to the existing terminal building, which will increase its size by a third. This plan aims to create increased passenger amenities, with an expected cost of £600 million. The extension plan will increase the terminal's size by 16,500 square metres, and is designed to accommodate an increase in passenger capacity from 35 million to 43 million annual passengers. On 1 November 2023, the government's Planning Inspectorate approved the expansion plan. The new terminal design will incorporate a larger departure lounge, an enlarged security hall, and new amenities, including additional shops, bars, and restaurants. The baggage reclaim area will also feature new carousels and increased baggage handling capacity. The redevelopment will include the installation new check-in desks, and next-generation security scanners. Satellite 2 (gates 20-39) is also currently undergoing an upgrade and modernisation programme, with new flooring, lighting, and gate area seating. The existing gate areas are also being reconfigured to model conventional gate-rooms as seen in other airports, with the aim to create more space for passengers when pre-boarding their aircraft
As part of the redevelopment project, the existing passenger transit system will be decommissioned and replaced with new walkways that will connect the terminal to the satellite buildings. Additionally, the immigration hall will be relocated to a new area downstairs within the terminal. Also included in the programme is the installation of a 14.3-megawatt on-site solar farm.
Construction of the extension is planned to begin in 2025 and is expected to last two to three years.
==== Proposed Satellite 4 ====
Plans for Satellite 4 have never been realised. Located to the northeast of Satellite 3, Satellite 4 was approved for planning permission in 1999 as part of an expansion strategy to increase the airport's capacity from 8 to 15 million passengers per annum. A revised scheme in 2005 included a pier link for the proposed satellite, with construction planned for 2013-2015, however plans did not proceed after the sale of BAA to Ferrovial, and construction never commenced. In 2018, the site of Satellite 4 was instead built as remote stands. The current expansion plans for 2024 do not include Satellite 4, and instead focuses on other airfield and terminal improvements.
==== Formerly proposed Arrivals Terminal ====
In December 2016, London Stansted Airport unveiled plans for a new £130 million arrivals terminal aimed to handle increasing passenger numbers and relieve pressure on the existing single-terminal setup, which is the busiest of its kind in the UK.
The new arrivals terminal was to be located adjacent to the existing terminal and Radisson Blu Hotel. It would feature a larger immigration and baggage reclaim area. This new facility would allow the existing terminal to be reconfigured exclusively for departures, expanding space for check-in, security, and the international departures lounge, and would make London Stansted the only airport in the UK with separate arrivals and departures terminals.
Initial construction was due to start in 2018, taking three years to complete. However, the arrivals terminal was put on hold at the end of 2019, due to fluctuating travel demand and economic uncertainties. In 2020, Uttlesford District Council refused planning permission for the expansion plan, but the Planning Inspectorate overturned this decision following a public inquiry in 2021. Despite the approval, further delays and changes to the airport's priorities led to the arrivals terminal being deferred.
In 2023, following a review of various proposals for increasing terminal capacity, Stansted Airport decided to cancel the arrivals terminal project, opting instead to focus on expanding the existing 1991 terminal building.
==== Formerly proposed artwork ====
As part of the terminal's initial development, in 1988 Norman Foster and British architectural artist Brian Clarke made several proposals for an integral artwork for the terminal building. The principal proposal would have seen the east and west elevations of the terminal clad in two sequences of traditionally mouth-blown, leaded stained glass, along the full 162-metre (531 ft) length of the building. However, for technical and security reasons, the artwork was not executed. In 1991, the British Airports Authority commissioned a second, smaller stained glass project from Clarke for Stansted Airport in place of the 1988 proposal. The artist designed two stained glass friezes and a 6-metre (20 ft) high tower of stained glass for a circulation area in the centre of the terminal which, in their composition, echoed elements of Foster's structure; by 1994 the tower had been removed to 'allow greater flow of traffic through the space', and later the friezes were likewise removed.
== Airlines and destinations ==
=== Passenger ===
The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from
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sted Airport:
Notes
^1 British Airways flights to Amsterdam operate as a one-way service. The return flights are destined for London-City. The service is a result of limited weekend opening times of London-City to decrease nuisance for nearby residents.
=== Cargo ===
=== Route development ===
Long-haul scheduled services commenced in 1987 with a short lived service from the Scottish airline Highland Express to Newark Liberty International Airport via Prestwick Airport. In the early 1990s American Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and Chicago–O'Hare, but the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993. Continental Airlines also operated a short lived service from 2 May 2001 from Newark Liberty International Airport, but this service was stopped shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Long-haul services to the United States returned in late 2005, when Eos Airlines and MAXjet Airways commenced all-business class services from Stansted to New York–JFK. In 2006, MAXjet expanded their service with flights to Washington–Dulles, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. American Airlines began daily flights to Stansted in October 2007 from New York–JFK and was originally expected to operate a second daily flight from April 2008. However, because of the 2000s energy crisis, the 2008 financial crisis, and worsening credit environment at the time, all three services to the United States have since been discontinued following the demise of MAXjet Airways in December 2007 and Eos Airlines in April 2008. Finally, in July 2008, American Airlines withdrew from Stansted, alongside its services to Gatwick, and consolidated all operations at Heathrow.
Long-haul transatlantic operations made a brief return to Stansted in June 2010, when Sun Country Airlines announced a seasonal weekly service from Stansted to Minneapolis/St. Paul. The flights made a refuelling stopover in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador as the aircraft used for the flight, a Boeing 737-800, would not be able to complete a nonstop westbound flight from Stansted to Minneapolis. The flights operated from 11 June to 15 August 2010. In 2011, Sun Country operated to Gatwick rather than Stansted and then discontinued flights due to the price involved in carrying fuel on long-haul flights..
Long-haul services to Asia commenced in March 2009 with Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia X providing direct flights to Kuala Lumpur International Airport; however, on 24 October 2011, this service moved to Gatwick Airport before being later withdrawn completely. Low-cost airline Primera Air launched non-stop flights from Stansted to Boston, Newark, Toronto-Pearson and Washington–Dulles, until the collapse of the airline meant the discontinuation of the routes by 2018, leaving Stansted without transatlantic routes once more. In 2018, Emirates began operating daily flights to its hub at Dubai-International using its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The route has since increased to a twice daily service.
The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the aviation industry, with Stansted Airport not being immune from the fallout. Ural Airlines (to Moscow–Domodedovo), Scandinavian Airlines (to Copenhagen), Air India (to Amritsar and Mumbai), Air Senegal (to Dakar–Diass) and El Al (to Tel Aviv), were either scheduled to begin in 2020, or had recently begun operation but have since not returned. Additionally, easyJet, one of the largest operators at the airport at the time, announced the closure of their base at Stansted, which had more than two dozen routes and existed for more than a decade, in August 2020.
== Statistics ==
=== Development ===
In 1988, over 1.1 million passengers passed through Stansted, the first time annual passenger numbers had exceeded 1 million at the airport. Consistent year-on-year growth followed, and by 1997, the total had reached over 5 million, rapidly rising to almost 12 million in 2000.
In 2007, passenger numbers peaked at nearly 24 million, but then declined for five years, and in 2012, the total was around 17.5 million. An increase of 2.2% was recorded in 2013 to 17.8 million passengers, then 11.7% in 2014 to 19.9 million, followed by 12.8% in 2015 to 22.5 million, and 8.0% in 2016 to a record total of 24.3 million, making Stansted the fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. Stansted also is a major freight airport, the third-busiest in the UK during 2016, behind London Heathrow and East Midlands Airport, handling in excess of 223,203 tonnes per annum, although freight throughput has declined slightly from its 2005 peak level.
Passenger numbers for the year ending September 2016 increased by 8.4% to over 24 million for the first time since 2007. Passenger numbers for 2023 was 28 million.
=== Traffic figures ===
=== Busiest routes ===
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== Ground transport ==
=== Airside Transit system ===
The Stansted Airport Transit System connects the terminal to the satellite buildings via a 2 mi (3 km) free automated people mover service, which runs on dual concrete tracks. The system uses a mix of Adtranz C-100 and CX-100 vehicles to carry passengers to departure gates. Unlike the similar Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit, the Stansted transit is only accessible "airside" (i.e. only after passengers pass through security). As part of the airport expansion plans, it is planned to decommission the Transit System in spring 2026 to make way for an expanded terminal. The transit will be replaced with pedestrian bridges.
=== Trains ===
Stansted Airport railway station is situated in the terminal building directly below the main concourse.
Services to London are on the Stansted Express train to and from Liverpool Street in Central London. This service operates every 15 minutes and the usual journey time is between 45 and 53 minutes. Liverpool Street is served by London Underground and the Elizabeth line, offering access throughout London. The Stansted Express also calls at Tottenham Hale, for the Underground's Victoria line and connections to various destinations in North London and the West End. Some Stansted Express services also call at Stansted Mountfitchet, Bishop's Stortford and/or Harlow Town en route to London Liverpool Street.
CrossCountry operates an hourly service from the airport to Birmingham New Street, via Cambridge, Peterborough and Leicester. Greater Anglia operates services to Norwich via Cambridge.
=== Buses and coaches ===
Scheduled express bus or coach services which run to and from London are provided by National Express and Flibco. The bus station is next to the terminal building.
Airport Bus Express operates service A21 to and from Liverpool Street Station via Stratford. National Express operates nearly 200 round trips a day and runs services A6 to Paddington Station typically every 30 minutes and taking 100 minutes (via Golders Green, Finchley Road, St. John's Wood, Baker Street and Marble Arch), A7 to Victoria Coach Station typically every 30 minutes and taking 115 minutes (via Bow, Mile End, Whitechapel, Southwark, and Waterloo), A8 to King's Cross Station typically every 30 minutes and taking 115 minutes (via Tottenham Hale, Shoreditch and Liverpool Street) and A9 non-stop to Stratford typically up to three times an hour and taking 50 minutes.
National Express also runs direct coach services to the airport from Luton Airport and Heathrow, and additionally from Birmingham (11 per day), Oxford (eight per day), Norwich (ten per day), and Cambridge (11 per day).
Stansted is also the start of the Essex Airlink X30 coach service to Southend-on-Sea via Chelmsford and London Southend Airport, the X20 coach service to Colchester via Braintree and the X10 coach service to Basildon via Chelmsford, all operated hourly by First Essex.
Local bus services operate to nearby communities, including the 510/509/508 (Harlow to Stansted via Stansted Mountfitchet, Parsonage Lane and Takeley, respectively), 7/7a (Bishops Stortford to Stansted), 133 (Braintree), and 6 (Saffron Walden), operated by Arriva.
=== Roads ===
Stansted is connected to northeast London and Cambridge by the M11 motorway and to Braintree, Colchester, and Harwich by the A120, which is dual-carriageway until Braintree. The road distance to London is 37 miles (60 km).
As of October 1996, the airport has 2,500 short-stay parking spaces within walking distance to the terminal. In addition, as of the same month, the airport has over 8,000 long-stay spaces located near the M11 motorway and A120 junction. A courtesy bus service links the long-stay spaces to the terminal. The airport also offers mid-stay parking, closer to the terminal than its long-stay spaces. Stansted Airport also offers valet parking and a meet-and-greet service, which is similar to valet, but marketed more at the leisure-traveller market; both are run from the short-stay car park.
== Incidents and accidents ==
Stansted has been designated by the UK government as its preferred airport for any hijacked planes requesting to land in the UK. This is because its design allows a hijacked airliner to be isolated well away from any terminal buildings or runways, allowing the airport to continue to operate while negotiations are carried out, or even while an assault or rescue mission is undertaken. For this reason, Stansted has been involved in more hijack incidents than might be expected for an airport of its size.
On 30 April 1956, a Scottish Airlines Avro 685 York C.1
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a runway excursion during a rejected takeoff, winding up in a drain on the side of the runway, collapsing the undercarriage. Two passengers died out of 54 on board.
On 23 December 1957, a Scottish Airlines Avro 685 York C.1, a cargo flight, crashed on its third approach to Stansted striking a tree three quarters of a mile short of the runway, crashing in flames. All four occupants died.
On 27 February 1982, an Air Tanzania Boeing 737-2R8C landed at the airport after having been hijacked on an internal flight from Mwanza to Dar es Salaam and flown to the UK via Nairobi, Jeddah, and Athens, where two passengers had been released. The hijackers demanded to speak to exiled Tanzanian opposition politician Oscar Kambona. This request was granted, and after 26 hours on the ground, the hijackers surrendered and the passengers were released.
On 30 March 1998, an Emerald Airways Hawker Siddeley HS 748 carrying the Leeds United F.C. was brought down immediately after takeoff when its starboard engine exploded. 40 passengers were onboard (18 from the Leeds team). Only two passengers were injured.
On 22 December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, a Boeing 747-200F, crashed shortly after take-off from the airfield due to pilot error. The only people on board at the time were the aircrew, and all four were killed. The aircraft crashed in Hatfield Forest near the village of Great Hallingbury.
On 6 February 2000, an Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727 with 156 people on board was hijacked and flown – stopping at Tashkent, Kazakhstan, and Moscow – to Stansted Airport. After a four-day stand-off, the hostages on board were safely freed and the incident ended peacefully. The motive behind the hijack was to gain asylum in the UK, sparking another debate about immigration into the country. A large number of passengers on board the plane also applied for asylum. The remainder returned to Afghanistan. Nine hijackers were jailed, but their convictions for hijacking were quashed for misdirection of the jury in 2003, and in July 2004, a court ruled that they could not be deported from the UK.
On 24 May 2013, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 709 from Lahore, Pakistan, was escorted by RAF Typhoons after being diverted from Manchester Airport due to an onboard threat. Two men were charged with endangering an aircraft.
On 21 September 2013, SriLankan Airlines Flight UL503 inbound to Heathrow was escorted by RAF Typhoons to Stansted Airport after being diverted. Two men were detained for endangering an aircraft, and one was formally arrested.
=== Protest incidents ===
In 2008, 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, an environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a "stockade" on a taxiway, which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.
In March 2018, a group of activists delayed a deportation flight to Nigeria. Fifteen of the protestors were found guilty of "intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome", under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990. This verdict on the Stansted 15 was described in New Statesman as having a chilling effect on public dissent.
== See also ==
List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies
Airports of London
List of Royal Air Force stations
== References ==
=== Citations ===
=== Bibliography ===
== External links ==
Media related to London Stansted Airport at Wikimedia Commons
London Stansted Airport travel guide from Wikivoyage
Accident history for STN at Aviation Safety Network
Official website
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Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civil engineering and aviation firm Bölkow in 1968, while rival aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau was acquired by the company in the following year.
The company was responsible for the development and manufacture of various aircraft during its existence. Among its best-known products were the MBB Bo 105 light twin-engine helicopter and its enlarged derivative, the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117. MBB was also a key early partner on the Airbus A300, a wide-body twin-jet airliner; the company's involvement in the A300's development and production led to it forming a key component of the multinational Airbus consortium. It was also involved in numerous experimental aircraft programmes, such as the MBB Lampyridae, an aborted stealth aircraft.
The ownership and assets of MBB changed drastically throughout its roughly two decades of existence. The company was bought by Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA) in 1989; following several mergers and restructures, the assets of what was MBB presently form a part of Airbus.
== History ==
On 6 June 1968, Messerschmitt merged with the small civil engineering and civil aviation firm Bölkow, becoming Messerschmitt-Bölkow. The following May, the firm acquired Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB), which had originated as a branch of Blohm+Voss. To reflect the latter's acquisition, the company changed its name to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). Upon its formation, 51% of the shares in MBB was owned by the Blohm family, Willy Messerschmitt and Ludwig Bölkow; 22.07% was owned by the German State of Hamburg, 17.05% by the state of Bavaria, 7.16% by ThyssenKrupp, 7.16% by Siemens, 7.13% by Allianz, 7.13% by Robert Bosch GmbH and 6.15% by Krupp.
Perhaps the most successful product produced primarily by MBB was the Bo 105 helicopter. This rotorcraft, the design of which was headed by German engineer Ludwig Bölkow, made use of a revolutionary hingeless main rotor composed of fibreglass. On 13 October 1970, the German Civil Aviation Authority certified the Bo 105; initial deliveries for the first customers, ADAC Air Rescue and the Bavarian State Police, took place shortly thereafter. During 1972, an improved version of the rotorcraft with more powerful engines, the Bo 105C, was developed, this model quickly superseded the Bo 105A. Following its introduction to service in 1970, the Bo 105 quickly proved to be a commercial success. Production continued until 2001; by the end of production, 1,406 rotorcraft had been manufactured and delivered to operators in 55 nations worldwide. It served as the basis for several derivatives, such as the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117.
Having established a reputation for reliability and safety, MBB, along with one of its major shareholders, Boeing Vertol, began studying options during the 1970s for producing an enlarged version to accompany the Bo 105. However, Boeing withdrew from the venture, leading to MBB search for another partner; this was found in the form of Japanese company Kawasaki Heavy Industries. On 25 February 1977, MBB and Kawasaki signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of a new rotorcraft. Under the terms of this agreement, the two corporations merged their previously separate projects to produce twin-engined general purpose helicopters, these being the Bo 107 by MBB and the KH-7 from Kawasaki. Separate elements were assigned to each company; MBB were responsible for developing the rotors (these were based on the rigid rotor system previously used on MBB's Bo 105), tailboom, flight controls and hydraulic system while Kawasaki undertook the development of the landing gear, airframe, main transmission, electrical system and other minor components. Each company established its own final assembly line for the type, on which they produced the rotorcraft to meet demands within their respective local markets.
An even more advanced derivative of the Bo 105, initially designated by MBB as the Bo 108 began development during the 1970s. The company developed it in partnership with France's Aérospatiale; the Bo 108 was originally intended to be a technology demonstrator, combining attributes of the successful Bo 105 with new advances and an aerodynamically streamlined design. Technologies included the first full-authority digital engine controls (FADEC) on a helicopter, a hingeless main rotor, and the adoption of a new transmission. First flown on
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October 1988, a production version was introduced as the Eurocopter EC135 during the early 1990s which, like its Bo 105 ancestor, achieved similar commercial success.
Perhaps the most important partnership that MBB was involved in was the Airbus A300. On 26 September 1967, the British, French, and West German governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start development of the A300. At this point, the A300 was only the second major joint aircraft programme in Europe, the first being the Anglo-French Concorde. Under the terms of the memorandum, Britain and France were each to receive a 37.5 per cent work share on the project, while Germany received a 25 per cent share. France's Sud Aviation was recognized as the lead company for A300, while Hawker Siddeley was selected as the British partner company. On 29 May 1969, during the Paris Air Show, French transport minister Jean Chamant and German economics minister Karl Schiller signed an agreement officially launching the Airbus A300, the world's first twin-engine widebody airliner. The project intended to produce an aircraft that was smaller, lighter, and more economical than its three-engine American rivals, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.
Shortly after the Paris Air Show agreement, it was decided that, to provide effective management of responsibilities, a Groupement d'intérêt économique would be established, allowing the various partners to work together on the project while remaining separate business entities; this would be the origins of the Airbus Group. On 18 December 1970, Airbus Industrie was formally established following an agreement between Aérospatiale (the newly merged Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation) of France and the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace of Germany, each receiving a 50 per cent stake in the newly formed company. On 15 March 1974, type certificates were granted for the A300 from both German and French authorities, clearing the way for its entry into revenue service. Ten years after the official launch of the A300, the company had achieved a 26 per cent market share in terms of dollar value, enabling Airbus Industries to proceed with the development of its second aircraft, the Airbus A310.
During 1981, MBB acquired rival company Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW), which itself had been formed via the merger of the aircraft manufacturers Focke-Wulf, Focke-Achgelis, and Weserflug. During the following year, MBB acquired the astronautics company Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO; to reflect this change, the company was rebranded as MBB-ERNO. In 1989, MBB was taken over by Deutsche Aerospace (DASA), which was renamed "Daimler-Benz Aerospace" in 1995. Following the 1998 merger of the German industrial group Daimler Benz and the American company Chrysler Corporation, the aerospace division was renamed DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG on 7 November 1998. As part of the prevailing trend of European defense consolidation of the late 1990s saw DASA being merged with Aerospatiale-Matra of France and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) during 2000. The former assets of the DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, for the most part, presently operate as "Airbus Germany".
== Subsidiaries ==
MBB-Liftsystems AG, which produces lifting systems for trucks and vans
MBB-Sondertechnik (today FHS Förder– und Hebesysteme GmbH), developed wind rotors in the 1980s and 1990s, and lifting systems for military use.
MBB Gelma GmbH, produces timekeeping units and machine control units (today owned by DORMA KG)
MBB Group AG
== Products ==
=== Aircraft ===
MBB Lampyridae
MBB Bo 102
MBB Bo 103
MBB Bo 105
MBB Bo 106
MBB Bo 108 - became the Eurocopter EC 135
MBB Bo 115
MBB Bo 209
MBB/Kawasaki BK 117
MBB 223 Flamingo
MBB/Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB-320 Hansa Jet
MBB F-104G/CCV (CCV Program)
==== Partnerships ====
Airbus A300
Airbus A310
Airbus A320 family
Eurofighter Typhoon
Panavia Tornado
Rockwell-MBB X-31
Transall C-160
MPC 75
=== Missiles ===
AS.34 Kormoran
Cobra (missile)
==== Partnerships ====
HOT (missile)
MILAN
Roland (missile)
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=== Space hardware ===
==== Uncrewed spacecraft ====
Helios (spacecraft)
Symphonie
EURECA
Shuttle pallet satellite
==== Crewed spacecraft ====
Spacelab
Saenger (spacecraft)
=== Other ===
MBTA Commuter Rail BTC-3 and CTC-3 rail cars
DB Class 420 commuter trains
DB ICE 1 high-speed trains
Alpenflug, a suspended roller coaster
== References ==
=== Citations ===
=== General sources ===
== External links ==
Airbus Group
MBB Industries AG
MBB Group AG
MBB Projects GmbH
MBB and Eurocopter history
MBB Palfinger GmbH
About Daimler-Benz Aerospace
MBB KOMET, the first high-speed maglev
Airbus Group: Aerospace pioneer Ludwig Bölkow
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Naval Air Facility Atsugi (厚木海軍飛行場, Atsugi Kaigun-hikōjō) (IATA: NJA, ICAO: RJTA) is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean, and once housed all of the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which deploys with the American aircraft carrier forward deployed to Yokosuka Naval Base.
During 2017 and 2018 the fixed-wing aircraft squadrons of CVW-5 relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in western Japan leaving only its two helicopter squadrons at Atsugi. In addition to the two CVW-5 helicopter squadrons NAF Atsugi is also home to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 51 (HSM-51), which provides detachments of MH-60R helicopters to forward deployed U.S. Navy guided missile cruisers, guided missile destroyers, and frigates at the nearby Yokosuka Naval Base. Service members stationed at Atsugi also work in conjunction with the former Kamiseya Naval Radio Receiving Facility.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) forces at Atsugi are the Headquarters Fleet Air Force, and Fleet Air Wing 4.
Despite its name, the base is 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) east northeast from the city of Atsugi, and is not adjacent to the city.
== History ==
The Imperial Japanese Navy constructed the base in 1938 to house the 302nd Kokutai, one of the Navy's most formidable fighter squadrons during World War II. Aircraft based at Atsugi shot down more than 300 American bombers during the firebombings of 1945. After Japan's surrender, many of Atsugi's pilots refused to follow Emperor Hirohito's order to lay down their arms, and took to the skies to drop leaflets on Tokyo and Yokohama urging locals to resist the Americans. Eventually, these pilots gave up, and left Atsugi.
General Douglas MacArthur arrived at Atsugi on 30 August to accept Japan's surrender. Shortly afterwards, elements of the USAAF 3d Bombardment Group moved in about 8 September, being replaced by the USAAF 49th Fighter Group on 15 September which handled the initial cleanup of the heavily damaged airfield along with the 1539th Army Air Forces Base Unit to provide station facilities. Minimal flight operations were restored by October which allowed the P-61 Black Widow-equipped 418th Night Fighter Squadron to operate from the airfield to provide air defense over the area, along with the P-38 Lightnings of the 49th FG. The 49th moved to Chitose Airfield on Hokkaido in mid February 1946, the 418th NFS to Okinawa in June, and on 31 December 1946 the 1539th AAFBU moved to Haneda Airfield.
During the occupation, the base housed the overflow from nearby Camp Zama; it was not refurbished to handle military air traffic until the Korean War. The Seabees (Navy construction battalions) came to the base in 1950 and prepared it for re-opening that December as Naval Air Station Atsugi.
NAF Atsugi was a major naval air base during both the Korean War and Vietnam War, serving fighters, bombers, and transport aircraft.
One of the aircraft based at Atsugi at least since 1957 was the U-2 spy plane. The plane made local Japanese headlines when it ran low on fuel and made an emergency landing at a glider-club landing strip. This same plane was piloted by Gary Powers, which provoked an international incident when it was downed over the Soviet Union.
Lee Harvey Oswald was based at Atsugi during his time in the United States Marines. He was a radar operator assigned to Marine Air Control Squadron 1. He was stationed there from September 1957 to November 1958.
In 1964 a United States Marine Corps F8U-2 Crusader based at the airfield crashed in nearby Machida, Tokyo. The pilot ejected, and was not seriously injured, but the crash killed four, and injured 32 people on the ground, and destroyed seven houses.
In 1969 an EC-121 aircraft of VQ-1 that took off from Atsugi on a reconnaissance mission near North Korea was shot down by a North Korean MiG-21. A series of options for response were presented to Nixon but ultimately no action was taken. The reconnaissance flights resumed a week later.
In 1972, the U.S. and Japanese governments agreed to share ownership of the base, after which the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force began operating from there.
In 1973 Yokosuka became the home port of the carrier USS Midway. As
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consequence CVW-5, the carrier's air wing was based at Atsugi.
On 2 November 1976, a US Navy Grumman C-1 Trader, piloted by Lt. Laury K. Backman, suffered a mechanical failure of the aileron system while maneuvering to land on runway 01, and crashed short of the runway. All six aboard were killed.
In 1977, a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II based at the facility suffered a mechanical failure, and crashed into a residential neighborhood in nearby Yokohama. The crew ejected and survived, but two young boys, aged 1 and 3, were killed, and 7 others injured.
Elements of the Naval Security Group, and rotational squadrons of EP-3 Aries that are now stationed at Misawa Air Base were formerly stationed at Atsugi until the 1990s.
On 9 February 1999 a fire broke out at a terminal, no injuries were reported.
On 3 April 2003 a faction of the leftist group Kakurōkyō attacked the facility with improvised mortar fire. Around the same time the same group also attacked Yokota Air Base, and the National Defence Agency.
In 2004 a McDonnell Douglas MD 900 Explorer operated by Aero Asahi made a crash-landing at Naval Air Facility Atsugi. There were no fatalities.
On 14 November 2009 a fire in Hangar 183 at the base injured three Japanese employees of Obayashi Corporation. The fire was reported at 11:55 a.m., and was extinguished by 12:45 p.m. The hangar was moderately damaged.
In December 2009, Atsugi was again attacked, this time by Kakurōkyō members via improvised mortar barrages.
Personnel and aircraft from the base assisted with Operation Tomodachi following and during the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima I nuclear accidents. During the crisis, around 2,000 American family members voluntarily departed the base for locations outside Japan.
On 16 December 2013 a MH-60S Knighthawk of CVW-5 crashed in Miura city due to a tail jam. The aircraft was written off, and two of the four occupants were injured.
On 15 February 2014 three US Navy P-3 Orions were crushed "beyond repair" when their hangar was destroyed due to a massive snow storm.
In December 2016 police arrested a Kawasaki man for pointing a laser pointer at JMSDF aircraft in July of the same year. It was reported that in 2016 there had been about 30 reports of laser pointers being directed at Japanese, and US aircraft.
A Grumman C-2A Greyhound assigned to VRC-30 aboard the USS Ronald Reagan was lost in an accident at sea on 22 November 2017. Three of the personnel on board were lost. After this a detachment of 4-6 US Marine Corps Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft were deployed to Atsugi for a week to fly supplies to the USS Ronald Reagan.
== Base name ==
Atsugi is named after the nearby city of Atsugi despite not actually being in Atsugi (it is separated from Atsugi by two other cities).
The name was chosen because Atsugi was the only large town in the area as of 1950, and the three farming villages surrounding the base at that time—Yamato Village, Ayase Village, and Shibuya Village—shared names with better-known areas elsewhere in Japan. Yamato is an alternative name for the Nara region, Ayase is generally associated with the area around Ayase Station in northeast Tokyo, and Shibuya is generally associated with the ward of Shibuya in central Tokyo.
== Base issues ==
=== The Jinkanpo Incinerator ===
NAF Atsugi and the people stationed there gained notoriety in the 1990s (stemming from near-daily reports in the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper) due to their proximity to the Jinkanpo Atsugi Incinerator, which blew toxic, and cancerous emissions over the high-rise buildings in its immediate vicinity. The incinerator's owners, arrested and jailed for charges of tax evasion, neglected the maintenance of the facility. The pollution had become so much of a health problem for residents that if they showed signs of adverse health effects, the base allowed them to leave early (usually servicemembers are stationed at the base for a tour of three years). Many servicemembers reported sickness, and a few died from cancer shortly after moving back to the United States. For a time, the base required servicemembers to undergo medical screenings before being stationed at the base in order to ensure that their bodies could handle the poor air quality. In spite of this, servicemembers still developed health problems, such as acute cases of asthma.
The US government's Department of Justice sued the incinerator operators. In May 2001, just before
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court was to hand down its decision, the Japanese government purchased the plant for nearly 40 million dollars and shut it down. Dismantling was completed by the end of that year.
=== Noise lawsuits ===
Since 1976 there have been a number of lawsuits with local residents sued the Japanese government over noise from the base, and in October 2002 the Yokohama district court ruled that the government should pay 2.75 billion yen in compensation. Both the plaintiffs, and the government appealed the case and in July 2006 the Tokyo High Court ordered the government to pay 4.04 billion yen to 4,865 people living near the base.
The fourth lawsuit over noise was filed in 2007 in the Yokohama District Court. In May 2014 the court ruled that the SDF should not operate its aircraft between 10pm to 6am and that the government should pay ¥7 billion yen in damages. It was the first lawsuit to request the grounding of US military aircraft. This request was rejected by the court.
The ruling was appealed, and in its July 2015 ruling the Tokyo High Court gave ¥9.4 billion to around 6,900 residents from eight cities, increasing the payout from the ¥7 billion yen ordered by the Yokohama district court. The Tokyo court also rejected calls to forbid night flights by US aircraft, arguing that the Japan-US security treaty is beyond the government's jurisdiction. In this it was following a Supreme Court ruling on the 1976 case, where the court ruled that the Japanese government has no power to regulate the activities of US forces in the country.
The case was appealed to the Supreme Court and in December 2016 Japan's Supreme Court overturned the ban on SDF night flights. It upheld the damages awarded by the Tokyo High Court. The plaintiffs planned to file a fifth lawsuit as soon as February 2017.
Organizing by residents continued and in July 2017 it was reported that there were plans for around 6,000 local people to launch the fifth lawsuit against the government regarding noise from the base. Shuji Onami, leader of the plaintiffs, stated "Our lives are disrupted and are even put at risk whenever we are hit with booming noise (from aircraft) overhead. We will never accept the reality of the Atsugi base-related flights." It was also reported that 2,000 to 3,000 additional residents may also join the action at a later time.
As of August 2017 6,063 nearby residents had joined the lawsuit.
== Protests and complaints ==
In addition to the lawsuits over noise there have been a number of protests regarding the base. In July 1988 20,000 people made a human chain around the base to protest about noisy night landings at the base.
In 2005 Yamato city officials protested over noisy night landings from F/A-18 Hornet training.
In 2007 the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) protested about F-16 and F/A-18 exercises at the base, and asked that they be stopped.
In 2013 the JCP also protested after a USN MH-60S Seahawk helicopter from Atsugi crashed in Miura city, and asked that Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys not be deployed to Atsugi. When Ospreys were sent to the base for training this also caused local protests.
There were complaints in 2017 after children were allowed to touch machine guns on US helicopters during the May 2017 open day at Atsugi. City authorities from Ayase and Yamato cities complained, after which the machine guns were quickly removed.
== Friendship festival ==
During Spring Atsugi holds an open day. Non-Japanese visitors may be turned away from the gates for security reasons. Prospective attendees who are neither Japanese or American should bring identification and also consult the Third Country National list to see if they require special approval to enter the base.
There was an "Atsugi WINGS" air show held until the year 2000, featuring the "diamond of diamonds" display by formations of US Navy aircraft. This was last held in the year 2000. There were many complaints about aircraft noise and low-flying planes, and from 2001 onwards full-fledged flying displays were not held during the open day. Currently there is a ground display of US Navy and JMSDF aircraft, as well as take-offs and landings by various aircraft, including touch-and-go landing practice.
== Carrier Air Wing Five ==
Atsugi hosts the two helicopter squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five. The wing includes about 70 aircraft and 1,500 military personnel, but the wing staff and all of its fixed wing squadrons are located at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni when the carrier is in port leaving only about 16 helicopters and 300 to 400 military personnel stationed at Atsugi when the carrier is in port at Yokosuka. On 9 May 2008 the wing commander, Captain Michael P. McNellis, was relieved of command by Rear Admiral Richard B. Wren, commander of Commander Task Force 70, after the
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iral said he lost confidence in McNellis' ability to command. McNellis was replaced by Captain Michael S. White. In 2012 the squadrons of CVW 5 completed their transition to variants of the Super Hornet/Growler, making it the first air wing without legacy Hornets.
=== Relocation to Iwakuni ===
Until 2018 all the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five were forward deployed to NAF Atsugi. Since at least 2005 there had been plans to relocate the approximately 60 fixed wing aircraft of the wing from Atsugi to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture. Yamaguchi governor Sekinari Nii said there was "no way" Yamaguchi prefecture would accept this. In 2006 Iwakuni voters rejected the plan in a plebiscite and Iwakuni mayor Katsusuke Ihara urged Tokyo to drop the plan. In 2007 the Japanese government passed legislation to prepare for the relocation of US Forces in Japan including subsidies for local affected areas.
The move was planned to have been done in 2014, but after construction delays the move was delayed by three years, to 2017.
The plan was for the move to take place in stages and be completed in May 2018. The move did not include the wing's approximately 20 helicopters.
The move began in August 2017 with the five E-2D Hawkeye aircraft of VAW-125 relocating to Iwakuni after the USS Ronald Reagan's summer 2017 patrol. Around 3800 personnel were expected to move to Iwakuni.
By 28 November three more squadrons relocated after the Ronald Reagan's second patrol of 2017. The new squadrons were the F/A-18E Super Hornet-equipped VFA-115 and VFA-195 and the EA-18G Growler-equipped VAQ-141. Fleet Logistics Support Squadron VRC-30 also relocated to MCASI by December 2017.
In March 2018 strike fighter squadrons VFA-27 with the F/A-18E Super Hornet and VFA-102 with the F/A-18F Super Hornet arrived at MCAS Iwakuni, completing the move of CVW-5's fixed-wing aircraft squadrons.
== Tenant squadrons ==
=== Maritime Self Defence Force ===
As of 2018, the following Fleet Air Force units of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force units are based at NAF Atsugi:
Fleet Air Wing 4, Air Patrol Squadron 3 (Lockheed P-3C Orion) (Kawasaki P-1)
Air Transport Squadron 61 (Lockheed C-130R Hercules) (LC-90)
Air Development Squadron 51 (P-1 & UP-1, P-3C & UP-3C Orion, SH-60J/K & USH-60K Seahawk)
=== US Navy ===
As of 2018, the US Navy tenant commands at NAF Atsugi are:
Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 51 Warlords (Sikorsky MH-60R "Seahawk")
CVW-5 Helicopter squadrons: (The fixed-wing squadrons and the carrier air wing staff are based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni)
Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 77 Saberhawks (MH-60R Seahawk)
Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12 Golden Falcons (MH-60S Seahawk)
Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific
Fleet Logistics Support Wing Clipper (C-40)
== See also ==
Izumi no Mori, a nature park operated by the city of Yamato, is located near the base.
== References ==
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
AFHRA History search Atsugi
== External links ==
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force Atsugi website (in Japanese)
Naval Air Facility Atsugi (official site)
Carrier Airwing Five based at NAF Atsugi
HSL-51 Squadron based at NAF Atsugi
Toxic Exposure – Jinkanpo/Shinkampo Incinerator – NAF Atsugi (in Japanese)
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Wake Island is a 1942 American action drama war film directed by John Farrow, written by W. R. Burnett and Frank Butler, and starring Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston, Macdonald Carey, Albert Dekker, Barbara Britton, and William Bendix. The film tells the story of the United States military garrison on Wake Island and the onslaught by the Japanese following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Wake Island was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture.
The film shows how the Marines, after being pounded for days by Japanese aircraft, caught the Japanese invaders by complete surprise by unleashing a wall of fire that stopped their first attempt to land on the island. The next attack was successful, in part because communications among the Marines had been cut, leading the Marine commander to believe his three hundred men were being slaughtered by the more than three thousand Japanese invaders. Because of their fierce defense of the island and because a Japanese cruiser was sunk, Marines were beheaded on the way to Japan to work as slaves in the mines there.
== Plot ==
A map is shown with a voiceover giving a brief history of the United States military on Wake Island to November 1941. U.S. Marine Corps Major Geoffrey Caton departs Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii aboard the Pan American Clipper to take command on Wake Island where he clashes with a military contractor named McClosky.
When Caton's inspection identifies Privates Randall and Doyle as troublemakers, he has them dig a large slit trench by hand. McClosky has a construction contract for large trenches and living quarters, and drives his crew to complete the work on time. There are numerous conflicts between the military and the civilians, including practicing for air raids.
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Randall's enlistment is up. As he prepares to board the Clipper news arrives about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Wake Island is placed on alert and Randall, unsure what to do, goes to a bomb shelter with the civilians as enemy planes approach. Four American are sent against 24 Japanese bombers, downing several but unable to prevent heavy bomb damage on the ground. Following the raid, Caton tells Randall he is no longer a civilian. McClosky stays to dig trenches and other shelters with his heavy equipment. Caton informs pilot Lieutenant Bruce Cameron that his wife was killed at Pearl Harbor.
When enemy ships approach the Marines camouflage their equipment and Caton orders them to hold their fire during the Japanese naval bombardment. Caton refuses to answer a Japanese call for surrender, and opens fire on the Japanese ships once they've reached to 4700 yards distance. Their fire repels the landing attempt and sinks several ships.
A reconnaissance flight spots a Japanese heavy cruiser that can fire on the island from outside the defenders' weapon range. Caton approves Cameron's plan to strip a fighter plane down to just 15 gallons of fuel and a double bomb load. After successfully bombing the ship, Cameron is wounded by a Japanese fighter, but lands his plane safely before dying. Caton asks Captain Lewis to fly back to Honolulu aboard a U.S. Navy patrol plane to provide intelligence to the U.S. Navy Department. When Lewis refuses, Caton makes it an order.
As they run out of large-caliber ammunition, Caton spreads his men wider with smaller guns. Japanese planes continue to bomb the island repeatedly inflicting major damage and casualties. The last American pilot, Captain Patrick, is killed bailing out of a damaged plane.
The Japanese again signal for surrender. Caton replies, "Come and get us" and orders his posts to act independently. When communications fail, Caton orders the last man out of his command post with a written message. McClosky walks in, asking for a weapon and they make their way to an abandoned machine-gun position where Caton mans the gun. The Japanese land and overrun the American positions. The film ends as the last of the main characters are killed in action and a voiceover declares: "This is not the end."
== Cast ==
Brian Donlevy as Major Geoffrey Caton
Macdonald Carey as Lieutenant Bruce Cameron
Robert Preston as Private Joe Doyle
William Bendix as Private Aloysius K. Randall
Albert Dekker as Shad McClosky
Walter Abel as Commander Roberts
Mikhail Rasumny as Ivan Probenzky
Rod Cameron as Captain Pete Lewis
Bill Goodwin as Sergeant Higbee
Damian O'Flynn as Captain Bill Patrick
Frank Albertson as Johnny Rudd
Philip Van Zandt as Cpl. Gus Goebbels (uncredited)
Uncredited actors include Filipino Hollywood actor Rudy Robles as Triunfo, James Brown as a wounded marine, Barbara Britton as Sally Cameron, and Patti McCarty as a girl at the inn. Chuck Connors is sometimes erroneously credited as a soldier in the meal line, but Connors was not in California during production, being at
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time a full-time player for the Norfolk Tars, a baseball team in the minor league Piedmont League. Mary Thomas appeared as Caton's daughter.
== Production ==
The film was based on official Marine records. A copy of the script by W. R. Burnett and Frank Butler was sent to the Marine Corps for approval prior to filming.
Director John Farrow had recently returned to Hollywood after being invalided out of the Canadian Navy. He was signed to make the film by Buddy DeSylva of Paramount, who liked Farrow's 1939 film Five Came Back. Farrow had visited Wake Island during his pre-Hollywood sailing days.
Filming started 23 March 1942. Most of the Japanese were played by Filipinos.
A special weapons detail of selected Marines from Camp Elliott, near San Diego, manned machine guns in land battle scenes. Marine crews were also used as extras and to operate equipment.
Three main locations were used. Most exteriors were shot in the Salton Sea in the California desert; filming took place here for three weeks at Sandy Beach which resembled Wake Island. The aerial battles were filmed at the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The big guns were fired at a coastal firing range near San Diego.
The film was a fictional account with Brian Donlevy's character being based on Major James P. S. Devereux, commander of the 1st Defense Battalion detachment on Wake. MacDonald Carey's was based on Major Henry T. Elrod and Captain Frank Cunningham. Walter Abel played the naval commander who in real life was Commander Winfield S. Cunningham.
The film crew had to battle intense sand storms on Sand Island. Following the location shoot, the main unit returned to Paramount Studio for three weeks of filming, while the second unit remained at Salton Sea under Hal Walker to do bombing scenes.
After completing the film, Farrow signed a long-term contract with Paramount.
MacDonald Carey was so inspired by working on the picture that he joined the United States Marine Corps after filming ended.
A radio play drama version featuring many of the same film actors was broadcast October 26, 1942 on the Lux Radio Theatre, hosted by Cecil B. DeMille on the CBS radio network.
== Reception ==
The film received positive reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it "a film for which its makers deserve a sincere salute. Except for the use of fictional names and a very slight contrivance of plot, it might be a literal document of the manner in which the Wake detachment of Marines fought and died in the finest tradition of their tough and indomitable corps."
Variety agreed and called it "one of the most striking pictures of the year... Never is there pandering to phoney flag-waving, always just a group of normal human beings who knew of no other course than fighting to the end."
Harrison's Reports called it "Thrilling... The realism of the Japanese attacks, and the stout defense put up by the Marines, are spine-chilling battle scenes that hold one in constant suspense, even though one is aware of the final outcome." Film Daily called it a "Stirring epic which will thrill the nation."
Wake Island placed fourth on Film Daily's year-end nationwide poll of 592 critics selecting the best films of 1942.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Wake Island holds a rating of 89% based on 9 contemporary and modern reviews.
It was one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
== Awards ==
At the 15th Academy Awards on March 4, 1943, Wake Island was nominated for Outstanding Motion Picture, Best Director (John Farrow), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (William Bendix), and Original Screenplay (W.R. Burnett and Frank Butler). John Farrow won the New York Film Critics' Award for Best Director.
== References ==
== External links ==
Wake Island at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Wake Island at IMDb
Wake Island at the TCM Movie Database
Wake Island at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
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