Deccan Airways Limited was a commercial airline based at Begumpet Airport[1] in the former Hyderabad State in India. It was owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad and Tata Airlines.[2]
History
Founded in 1945, Deccan was one of the nine airlines that existed in India during independence. The airline was a joint venture of Nizam Government of the Hyderabad State and Tata Airlines. 71% of Deccan Airways was owned by the Nizam's Government and the rest by Tata Sons and others. Commercial operations were launched with a fleet of three aircraft in July 1946, operating a biweekly service between Madras and Delhi via Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bhopal, and Gwalior. It also flew a biweekly Hyderabad-Bangalore flight.[3] By March 1947, the airline had seven aircraft in its fleet and was operating the Madras-Delhi flight daily as well as a daily Hyderabad-Bombay flight.[4] Between July 1946 and May 1947, the airline had carried more than eleven thousand passengers, 51 tonnes of freight, and almost seven tonnes of mail.[5]
Post-Annexation
After the September 1948 Operation Polo, a military operation through which India annexed Hyderabad State, the airline was owned by the Government of India. By 1952, the Government of India held 78% of the shares of Deccan Airways. The shares were acquired from the Hyderabad Government & Nizam State Railways. 13% of the shares was still held by Tatas & 9% by the general public.[6]
Nationalisation
In 1953, Deccan Airways Limited, along with seven other airlines under the Air Corporations Act, were merged to form a single domestic carrier, Indian Airlines. On 10 October 1953, Deccan Airways resigned its associate membership of IATA.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
Fleet
When Deccan was merged with Indian Airlines in 1953, it had a fleet of thirteen Douglas DC-3 'Dakota' aircraft. The DC-3 aircraft were brought from US Air Force at a throw away price after they were left unused in Assam after World War II.
Accidents and incidents
- 5 April 1950: A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-CJD) crashed at Hatiara while attempting to return to Dum Dum Airport after an engine failed, killing all three crew;[13]
- 21 November 1951: A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-AUO) crashed near Dum Dum Airport while attempting to land in extremely poor visibility conditions, killing all four crew and 12 of 13 passengers.[14][15][16]
- 19 February 1952: A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-AXE) crashed on landing at Sonegaon Airport due to pilot error and possible misread altimeter, killing three of 16 on board.[17]
- 30 April 1952: A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-AUN) crashed at Safdarjung Airport, Delhi, due to engine failure, killing four crew and five passengers.[18]
See also
References
- ↑ Civil Aviation News. FlightGlobal(10 January 1946). Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ↑ A Story of Flight. The Indian Express(27 July 2009). Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ↑ Brevities. FlightGlobal(1 August 1946). Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ↑ Civil Aviation News. FlightGlobal(13 March 1947). Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ↑ Brevities. FlightGlobal(7 August 1947). Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ↑ Economic Weekly. The Economic Weekly(29 March 1952). Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ Hyderabad, The City Of Wings As Well. The New Indian Express(15 March 2014).
- ↑ 100 Years of Civil Aviation in India - Milestones. Press Information Bureau, Government of India(25 January 2011).
- ↑ A tome on the aviation history of the Deccan(25 May 2014).
- ↑ Commercial Aviation in India: A Multifaceted Story. India Strategic(March 2014). Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ↑ PM Reddy: An aviator and engineer par excellence. Times of India(4 May 2014).
- ↑ IATA Bulletin, Volume 15-22{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. International Air Transport Association(1952)
- ↑ Template:ASN accident
- ↑ Template:ASN accident
- ↑ 16 Killed in Air Crash Near Calcutta. The Indian Express(November 22, 1951).
- ↑ 16 Die in Plane Crash. The Daily Telegraph(November 22, 1951).
- ↑ Template:ASN accident
- ↑ Template:ASN accident