Aden Airways was a subsidiary of

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

(BOAC) based in

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...

. It was in operation from 1949 to 1967.

History

In 1947, a proposal to form an airline in Aden using a pair of Bristol Wayfarers did not materialize. An engineering base was established by BOAC in

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The c ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...

, in January 1948 as part of BOACs No.5 Line, which was centered on Aden and served

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

and the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

area. On 7 March 1949, Aden Airways Ltd was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of BOAC. A fleet of six BOAC

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

aircraft were based at Aden and these were taken over by Aden Airways. Operations commenced on 1 October 1949 with the aircraft operating under their

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

(G-) registrations. On 1 February 1950, the aircraft were placed on the Aden (VR-A) register. On 31 March 1950, share capital of Rs. 800,580 ( £60,043) was issued. BOAC owned all the shares. The ownership of the shares passed to Associated British Airlines (Middle East) Ltd in 1955 and B.O.A.C. Associated Companies in 1957. Aden Airways experienced a seasonal increase in passenger numbers due to the

pilgrimage to Mecca The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...

. Extra aircraft were leased to cover these flights, notably

Avro York The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of La ...

s from

Skyways Skyways may refer to: *Skyway, walk bridge *Skyways (British airline), defunct British airline also known as Skyways Limited * Skyways (Swedish airline), defunct Swedish airline also known as Skyways Express * ''Skyways'' (TV series), Australian TV ...

in 1954 and 1955. On 28 February 1960, Aden Airways took delivery of their first Canadair C-4 Argonaut. A May 1960 order for Avro 748s was later cancelled. From 1 January 1962, Aden Airways entered into an agreement with East African Airways Corporation to pool services on the Aden –

route. In September 1963, the first turboprop

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...

s entered service. In 1967, the political situation in Aden was deteriorating and Aden Airways therefore ceased operations on 30 June 1967.

Fleet

Douglas DC-3

*Twelve different

s (all were former military Dakotas or C-47s) were operated by the airline from 1950 until it closed in 1967.

Canadair C-4 Argonaut

Three Argonauts were acquired from BOAC in 1960 and one from East African Airways. Another Argonaut was leased from Derby Airways. The three former BOAC aircraft were scrapped after serving with Aden Airways and the former East African Airways went to the United Kingdom in May 1964.

Vickers Viscount

*Two aircraft delivered to Aden Airways in September 1963. One aircraft was placed in storage in April 1967 and the other was destroyed by fire on 21 July 1967 after a bomb exploded while the aircraft was in quarantine. The bomb had been placed by National Liberation Front guerillas. (Search by c/n or registration using drop down menu box) One aircraft was also leased from

Central African Airways Central African Airways (CAA) was a supranational airline corporation serving as flag carrier for Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (respectively the present day countries of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi), which were organised ...

Avro York

*A number of

s were leased from Skyways in 1954 and 1955.

Avro 748

*Two Avro 748s were ordered in May 1960. The order was cancelled in May 1962.

Accidents and incidents

*In October 1952, Douglas DC-3 ''VR-AAE'' was severely damaged in an accident when it landed on a road near Assouan,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and hit a tree stump. The damaged aircraft was dismantled and transported to Heliopolis by barge and thence to

, where it was repaired despite being declared a

write-off A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...

and Aden Airways receiving £30,000 in insurance money. *On 12 April 1964, Douglas DC-3 ''VR-AAM'' was written off at

Hargeisa Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

with the loss of 15 lives. *On 26 March 1965, Douglas DC-3 ''VR-AAA'' was damaged beyond economic repair after it was groundlooped following a downwind landing at Hadibo Airport,

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen� ...

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

. *On 22 November 1966, Douglas DC-3 ''VR-AAN'' crashed at Wadi Rabtah after a bomb on board exploded. The aircraft was on a flight from Mayfa'ah Airport to

Aden International Airport Aden International Airport is an international airport in Aden, Yemen and the oldest airport in the Arabian peninsula. Prior to its use as a civil air facility, the aerodrome was known as RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an ...

. Thirty people were killed, amongst them Amir Mohammed bin Said, the Prime Minister of

Wahidi Wahidi ( ar, واحدي ') is a former sultanate in South Arabia, now part of Yemen. In the 19th century it was subdivided into several sultanates. These included: *Wahidi Balhaf (known from 1962–1967 simply as Wahidi) ** Wahidi Azzan * Wahidi ...

. The bomb had been planted by his son, Ali. *On 30 June 1967,

''VR-AAV'' was damaged beyond economic repair at

when a bomb on board exploded. The aircraft was in quarantine at the time after an engine change.

References

External links

Aden Airways timetables
{{airlines of Yemen Airlines established in 1949 Airlines disestablished in 1967 Defunct airlines of Yemen 1949 establishments in Asia 1949 establishments in the British Empire 20th-century establishments in the Colony of Aden