Cairo–Baghdad air route

[1]: 23 The route was opened on 23 June 1921 and the first mail from Baghdad destined for London was carried on 28 July 1921 arriving there on 9 August.

[1]: 45  This section was mostly over the well populated coastal plains between the Nile and the Dead Sea, where there were plenty of landmarks by which to steer.

The Eastern section (540 miles) was over the Jordanian and Iraqi deserts, uninhabited except for nomadic tribes and with few landmarks.

[1]: 13  A visible track over this part of the route was laid across the ground by the wheels of an armoured car driven for this purpose, or by a plough pulled by a Fordson tractor, depending upon the nature of the terrain.

Using three-engined de Havilland Hercules aircraft of greater range than the Vernons, the route was extended first to Basra and then to Karachi in India, a distance of 2,500 miles, as part of an air passenger service.