Aden Airways was a subsidiary of

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

(BOAC) based in

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. 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 (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

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

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

and the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

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 the 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 ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(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 Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. Extra aircraft were leased to cover these flights, notably

Avro York The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the World War II, 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 impo ...

s from Skyways 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 retired 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. T ...

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.

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 ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

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

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

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, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...

South Yemen South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until Yemeni unification, its unification with the Yemen A ...

. *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. Thirty people were killed, amongst them Amir Mohammed bin Said, the Prime Minister of Wahidi. The bomb had been planted by his son, Ali. *On 30 June 1967,

''VR-AAV'' was damaged beyond economic repair at Aden International Airport 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