TRANS-TASMAN AIR SERVICE TO N.Z.

Grey River Argus, 1 June 1948, Page 7

TRANS-TASMAN AIR SERVICE TO N.Z.

CHRISTCHURCH, May 31 Australian airways company advised the Harewood Overseas Air Terminal Committee that it would be prepared to operate a trans-Tas-man air service immediately, using Wigram as a, temporary, base until the completion of extensions to the Harewood airport. Mr J. R. Dench (chairman of the committee), said: “People of this city do not seem to realise that in Harewood we . have the only non-military aerodrome near a large city with any pretensions to overseas requirements, lhe committee has always . believed that we should develop this asse. as speedily as possible rather than place the province and the South Island in the position of having to depend on a military aerodrome, as is the case in other centres.” AUCKLAND, May 31

While the accumulation of prospective travellers to Australia con ' tinues to grow and is now estimated to have reached several thousand, Tasman Empire Airways, Ltd., is still awaiting word from the Civil Avation branch of the Air Department concerning the return of certificates of airworthiness for its four Tasman class flying boats. . The service, meanwhile, is being mantained by Skymaster aircraft chartered from Australian National Airways, but three or four Tasman flying-boats have now been modified and are lying idle at Mechanics Bay pending the return of their certificates. The Minister in charge of Civil Aviation (the Hon. F. Jones) said this week that no indication could yet be given as to when the service would be resumed by flying-boats. More than three months have passed since the aircraft were grounded on February 23 for engine modifications following engine overheating in some conditions of flight, and it is a month since the flyingboat, New Zealand, returned to Auckland after extensive testing by the Royal Australian Air Force in Sydney’ and Melbourne. She was flown to Australia for trials on April 8 following a ruling by the Minister that further tests must be made before certificates would be returned. In his most recent statement, Mr Jones revealed that reports had now been received from Australia for study. He said further tests were being made in New Zealand and that a decision could not be reached until the full results had been studied. With a virtual cessation o fregular sea transport across the Tasman, an extra burden is being placed upon the air line. .