BUSINESS BASIS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 196, 20 August 1934, Page 5

BUSINESS BASIS

BRITAIN’S AIRPORTS NEW RIVALS FOR CROYDON. , There is a growing movement to separate commercial aviation from private flying, the sporting side from the military, writes Amy Mollison in the Daily Mail. The tendency shows itself in many ways. Croydon, London’s chief airport has for a long time discouraged private pilots from landing there, and all joy-riding concerns and schools are being transferred to other aerodromes. Expansion of air services is becoming so great that even internal airservices are being moved from Croydon, in order to leave the airport free to take its place as the “clearinghouse” for Europe, the Empire, and the world. As it has always been the Englishman’s boast that London is the First Port, so with equal pride should we bo able to boast of Croydon as the First Airport. England has a key position as the stepping-stone between the Ol'd World and the New. The terminus for England’s internal air system is likely to be Heston. Traffic at this aerodrome has grown so much within the last year that there is serious talk of following Croydon s example and transferring private and school work elsewhere. Hundreds of commercial machines land weekly at Heston, which is, fortunately adequately equipped to deal with "them. It is almost a model airport. with many roomy hangars, an excellent hotel, ’ restaurant, buffet, and . bar, Customs facilities, and night-fly-ing equipment. A passenger lancing at Heston can |] be taken quickly into London by car, or has the choice of a host of air-taxi firms who will take him anywhere for about Is a mile. Not so long ago all pilots going abroad had to land at either Croydon or Lynipne to clear Customs. Nowadays most of the large airports have been given Customs facilities, and I think there is no doubt that soon every town will have its municipal a’irport as it now has its railway station, and every municipal airport will have Customs facilities. The most important essential in flying is speed, and that the Customs authorities realise this is amply shown by the quick and efficient manner in which passengers are dealt with. It has long been a recognised fact that not only is time saved by actual , flying, but everything and everyone becomes so caught up with the spirit of speed that the very omnibuses that take passengers to the aerodrome waste little time, ’and all ground organisation is so efficient that I have occasionally heard a passenger complain of being left behind “because he didn’t realise how fast things wore happening.” Recent Additions. Liverpool and Hull arc the most recent additions to the list of approved Customs airports. Liverpool occupies a very favourable position on the air map and should turn out to be one of the great airports of the future. When regular transatlantic air services become a reality there is a distinct possibility of Liverpool’s cutting out Croydon as a stopping-place en route for the Continent. Feeder lines would then, of course, have to run to Croydon and thence to Paris and southeast Europe. But for Amsterdam, Berlin, and Eastern Europe, Liverpool is in a more direct line with America and Canada. The main disadvantage about Liverpool is the smoke haze, which almost always lowers visibility and makes fog and mist much thicker than normal. | However, when direclional wireless is used by'all and fog landings are an accomplished fact, lack of visibility will never in itself interfere with the regular running of an air service. As for Hull, it is now definitely on the air map as a result of uhe recent co-operation with the K.L.M. Airline • Company. The service, which takes passengers • direct over the North Sea and saves more than a day on the former time taken to come down to London by tram • and take an aeroplane from there, is already proving very popular and is • running a hundred per cent, to schedule. Business men of the north can now ■ make their way swifty to northern and eastern Europe without touching London, and there is no question that the saving of time thus effected will make business relations a good deal easier. Services are run daily.