British Aviation Services
British Aviation Services Limited (Britavia) was an early post-World War II airline holding company and air transport operator that could trace its roots back to 1946.
[1][2] Its main activities included trooping, inclusive tour (IT) and worldwide passenger and freight charter services.
The same year, BAS Group also took control of Aquila Airways, the last commercial flying boat operator in the United Kingdom.
This visit resulted in the decision to set up a new air transport operator to serve the mining industry, to be named Silver City.
[10][11] In 1953, BAS Group announced its intention to take over Aquila Airways, Britain's last remaining flying boat operator.
BAS's official statement moreover foresaw an expansion of flying boat activities and an increase in the associated fleet and facilities as well as additional services to and from Portugal, including Madeira.
[5] The same year, BAS acquired Lympne-based Air Kruise, an independent airline operating charter and pleasure flights using passenger-configured de Havilland Dragon Rapides and Douglas Dakotas.
Air Kruise's regular charter flights across the English Channel between Lympne and Le Touquet formed the basis of what would become Silver City's passenger division.
[16] These aircraft were allocated to Britavia's Hermes Division at Blackbushe and formed the core fleet for the airline's trooping flights and IT services.
[18] In December 1955, BAS agreed to buy out David Brown and Eric Rylands, the owners of Blackpool-based Lancashire Aircraft Corporation (LAC).
Although BAS Group had become the UK's biggest independent airline operator by that time, it began making heavy losses.
The loss of Britavia's biggest trooping contract to Hunting-Clan was the main reason for BAS's poor financial performance.
In 1959, Britavia transferred its entire five-strong Hermes 4A fleet to sister airline Silver City, as a consequence of the loss of another trooping contract to Eagle.
[8][10] It also made BUA the largest unsubsidised, private sector airline outside the United States, with total assets of about £20m and more than 4,000 employees.
The aircraft, a Handley Page HP.81 Hermes 4A (registration: G-ALDJ), operated an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Blackbushe via Malta and Cyprus to Tripoli and back.
Due to the flight arriving at Tripoli's King Idris Airport five hours late, there was a reduced rest time for the crew that had taken over the aircraft in Malta.
The subsequent accident investigation established the captain's fatigue while operating in difficult conditions, as well as his misjudgement of the aircraft's height based on his vision of the airport lights, as the probable cause.
