Issue date: 09 Sep, 2019
ANNIVERSARIES. CENTENARY OF AIR TRANSPORT IN SPAIN (1919-2019)
On 1 September 1919, a few minutes after 8 am, three Breguet XIV planes took off from Montaudran airfield to fly to Barcelona. From there, two of the planes continued to Casablanca, with stops in Alicante and Malaga. They arrived at their destination at 3:30 pm the next day.
In five stages, the aviators had covered 1,850 kilometres in 11 hours and 45 minutes flying time.
This remarkable feat for the time was thanks to a decision by the engineer and aircraft manufacturer Pierre Georges Latécoère. It was the launch of Spain’s first commercial airline.
This flight also led to the launch and development of airmail, as people saw that mail sent from France to Morocco, which once took at least 11 days to cross the Iberian Peninsula, could arrive in less than two days.
A hundred years is a long time, but it’s still remarkable that a century later we can fly around the globe in a matter of hours.
And while the earliest air travel was only available to a privileged few, today millions of passengers take millions of flights every day.
These days air transport has become an essential part of society.
Looking to the future, it is likely that the coming decades will see new technological breakthroughs leading to single-person aircraft, airborne home deliveries, and new, more efficient forms of passenger plane.
The stamp marking this centenary shows a black-and-white image of a Douglas C-47-DL aeroplane belonging to the airline Iberia. Above it, the number 100 in bright colours symbolises the past and present of aviation.
The logo of the 100th anniversary of Air Transport in Spain appears at the bottom of the stamp.
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