DIRECT FLIGHTS TO HAREWOOD

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25427, 25 February 1948, Page 6

DIRECT FLIGHTS TO HAREWOOD

TERMINAL COMMITTEE. SUGGESTION

PASSENGERS ON TASMAN SERVICE

Urgent representations to the Minister in charge of Air Department (Mr F. Jones) to arrange for passengers from Australia for the South Island to be flown direct to Harewood by Skymasters were made yesterday by the Harewood Overseas Air Terminal Committee. In a telegram, which was also sent to the Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser) the chairman of the committee (Mr J. R. Dench) urged the use of Harewood for the transit of passengers and goods for the southern part of the Dominion, including Wellington, to relieve congestion at the earliest possible date, and added that Australian owners of Skymasters were prepared to land at Harewood. “The present breakdown in the trans-Tasman flying-boat service only serves to emphasise the great need for an alternative air service between Australia and New Zealand, and Harewood is the obvious place,” said Mr Dench. “Besides feeding the South Island, with great convenience and saving .to trans-Tasman passengers, Harewood can also serve the Wellington distriot by feeder service to Paraparaumu.” Referring to the committee’s suggestion that southern passengeis should be flown direct to Harewood, Mr Dench said that the advantages were obvious. There would be a saving in time and money for southern passengers and avoidance of the bottleneck which now existed because of the routing of passengers through Auckland and the congestion of surface transport