The National Syndicate for the Study of Aerial Transport (), known by its acronym SNETA, was an early airline which operated from 1919 to 1923 in order to pioneer commercial aviation in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. In 1923 it ceased operations and merged into the newly founded national carrier
SABENA.
History
The company was founded on 31 March 1919 by
Georges Nélis with the support of
King Albert I. It operated from the
airfield
An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
at
Haren, near Brussels, and flew to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main ...
and
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located near Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airp ...
),
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(
Paris–Le Bourget Airport
Paris–Le Bourget Airport () is an airport located within portions of the communes of Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, Dugny and Gonesse, north-northeast of Paris, France.
Once Paris's principal airport, it is now used only for general a ...
) and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
(
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipal ...
). Amongst the pilots of SNETA was
Ivan Smirnov. Its initial fleet was made up of surplus airplanes from the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The company used a mix of British, French and German planes. The first nine acquired airplanes were:
* 3
Breguet 14
The Breguet XIV (in contemporary practice) or Breguet 14 is a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war.
The Breguet 14 w ...
* 3
De Havilland Airco DH.9
* 3
Rumpler C.IV.
Later the company also acquired
Farman F.60 Goliaths and
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...
s.
In 1921, the company started operating in the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
through its subsidiary CENAC (''Comité d' Etude pour la Navigation Aérienne du Congo'' and later as
Ligne Aérienne du Roi Albert) flying to
Matadi
Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...
,
Léopoldville
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...
and
Stanleyville using the
Lévy-Le Pen.
On 27 September 1921, a wooden hangar burned out, destroying 7 of SNETA's 23 airplanes.
By 1 June 1922, enough information was gathered and all experimental flights were suspended. This cleared the way to start up a real Belgian commercial operator, SABENA, which came into being on 23 May 1923 and into which SNETA merged.
Fleet
Historical fleet
* 3x
Bréguet 14
The Breguet XIV (in contemporary practice) or Breguet 14 is a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war.
The Breguet 14 w ...
* 6x
Airco de Havilland DH.9
* 5x
Airco de Havilland DH.4
* 10x
Rumpler C.IV
* 1x
Luft-Verkehrs Gesellschaft LVG C.IV
* 6x
Luft-Verkehrs Gesellschaft LVG C.VI
* 6x
Farman F.60 Goliath
* 1x
Ansaldo A.300-C
* 6x
Blériot-SPAD S.33
* Operated by CENAC: 6x Levy-Le Pen flying boats.
Further reading
*
External links
Tillo Behaeghe, ''Aimé Behaeghe, De eerste piloot in Centraal Afrika'', Hangar Flying, Grimbergen, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneta
Defunct airlines of Belgium
Economic history of Belgium
Airlines established in 1919
Airlines disestablished in 1923
Belgian companies established in 1919
1923 disestablishments in Belgium