AIR TRAVEL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 October 1940, Page 6

AIR TRAVEL

INCREASE IN CANADA. GREAT DEVELOPMENT MADE. OTTAWA. Air travel in Canada increased by almost one hundred per cent in 1939, according to a,report on civil which reveals that the passenger miles flown numbered 26,107,750 miles as against 14,886,718 passenger miles in 1938. Air passengers carried during the year numbered 161,503 as against 139.806 in the preceding year, but the more marked gain in the mileage flown is attributed to the longer flights made possible by the inauguration of passenger service on the Trans-Canada Air Lines in 1939. Canada has long been a pioneer in freighting by air, and the provision of facilities for trans-continental air travel is significant of the advance being made in air passenger traffic. Freight transportation by civil aircraft during 1939 showed little change, amounting to 21.253,364 pounds compared with 21,704,587 pounds in 1938. Mail carried by air totalled 1,900,347 pounds as against 1,901,711 pounds. Considerable sketching and photographing from aircraft was also carried on during the year. The area sketched in 1939 was 3,420 square miles and the area photographed, 46,344 square miles. The number of forest fires detected and reported was 181 as compared with 368 in 1938. The principal activity of other commercial aircraft in Canada during the year was the carriage by air of freight, passenger and mail to the more remote parts of the country. The freight consisted largely of machinery and supplies for mines in the northern regions of Quebec, Ontario, the western provinces, and the North-West territories. Formerly accessible only by clog team or canoe, many mining areas in the North are now served by aircraft operating on regular schedules. Other activities of commercial airmen included forest fire patrols, timber cruising, air photography, and topographical survey work.