OCEAN AIRPORT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 543, 29 May 1933, Page 3

OCEAN AIRPORT

SUGGESTED USE FOR BURNED LINEIR L'ATLANTIQUE. London, Saturday. A proposal to anchor the liner L'Atlantique, which was practically burned out in the English Channel, half -way between Cherbourg and New, York, and use her for a half -way 4 station on the transatlantic air service, has been put forward by French engineer (says the Paris correspondent of the London Morning Post.) Though the suggestion is not taken seriously, the reason for it is somewhat curious in view of the litigation now in progress between the Compagnie Sud-Atlantique and the underwriters. It is pointed out that though the hull and bottom are perfectly sound, the size of the liner no longer meets the requirements of the South' Atlantic trade. The company, it is stated, has lost money on every voyage, and if the Atlantique were rebuilt it is said that it would lose. even more owing to the decline of the tourist traffic and the fact that more and more people in future will use the air service between France and South America. It is urged that the vessel would prove admirable as a fioating; island. She is 700 feet in length, with a beam of 98 feet, and with her upper decks removed would be roomy enough to contain aerodrome workshops, hotel accommodation, and all the other necessities of a mid-ocean airport.