The "Heathrow" air cargo story

Fifteen miles west of London lie three thousand acres of sophisticated technology which we know as London Airport. Millions of passengers know it only as a bustling, noisy gateway to holidays abroad or to wearying business trips. However to those whose livelihood, involves labouring in this hub of intense activity, or have done so in the past, it means very much more.

The airports hundred’s of acres of concrete, millions of square feet of offices and warehouses, miles of roads, its lights, its radar, radio, cars, computers, trucks and thousands of human beings: plus the fleets of aircraft, all combine, with their own individual functions to form the second most busy port in the country. London Airport is also one of the busiest in the world. In many respects it is acknowledged as the greatest but to the Air Cargo Forwarder it can be anything from a bitterly hard task-master to a centre of interest and fascination and almost anything between. The one thing it cannot be is ignored.

THE NEW AIRPORT FOR LONDON.

In 1919 an airfield by the title of Hounslow Aerodrome existed on Hounslow Heath, less than a mile south of the present Heathrow Airport, it was used during World War I., as a Flying Training Field for the trainee pilots of the Royal Flying Corps. It was not a particularly suitable location for further development due to poor drainage and was closed shortly after the end of hostilities. About ten years later, interest in the general area was re kindled, in 1930 Richard Fairey, the founder of Fairey Aviation, paid the Vicar of Harmondsworth the sum of £15000 for 150 acres of land upon which he developed an Airfield that became known as Great Western Aerodrome. The field was then used primarily for aircraft assembly and testing. The airport stood on a parcel of land that was designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt.

Following the end of the First World War, two airfields, namely Beddington Aerodrome which was built in 1915 for the R.F.C. and Waddon Aerodrome built in 1918 for the R.A.F. were combined into London's official airport, to be known as Croydon Aerodrome. This was the gateway for all international flights to and from the capital, opening for business on the 29th March 1920. It stimulated a growth in regular scheduled flights carrying passengers, mail and cargo, the first destination being Paris; soon followed by Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

In 1923 the Government’s Hambling Committee recommended that existing Airline Operators upon Croydon Aerodrome should merge to create, a company that would be strong enough to develop Britain's external air services. The companies involved being Daimler Airways, Handley Page Transport Ltd., Instone Airline Ltd., and British Marine Air Navigation Co. Ltd. The new company was to receive a £1m subsidy spread over ten years if they agreed to merge. The resultant company became Imperial Airways Limited, formed in March 1924. In the mid 1920s the airfield was extended, some adjacent roads such as Plough Lane being closed to provide land for the extension needed to allow heavier airliners to land and depart safely. A new complex of buildings was constructed adjoining Purley Way, including the first purpose-designed Air Terminal, in the world.

In November 1938 the Chamberlain government decided that Imperial Airways, which served Empire routes, should be merged with British Airways Ltd, a company which served European routes. British Airways operated from Croydon from March 1937 to May 1938, when it moved to Heston Airport. The new company was known as British Overseas Airways Corporation, BOAC.

As WWII gradually appeared to favour the Allies as likely victors it became clear that with technical advances, post-war airliners were going to be larger and the use of airports serving Capital Cities would intensify. As Croydon had no room for further expansion and would almost certainly be too small to meet post-war travel demands the Government were obliged to give serious thought to creating a replacement. Great Western Aerodrome was the most economical choice and was designated as London's future airport with Croydon’s closure; it did however survive as an operating airfield for a few years and closed in 1952.

To avoid an obligatory Public Enquiry, for the acquisition and extension of an existing airfield in peacetime, Great Western Aerodrome was requisitioned by the Air Ministry in 1944; the R.A.F. made more use of the field after this but not as an operational airfield its use was limited to minor repairs and storage. The Air Ministry having taken the aerodrome over for ‘military purposes’ at that time, ensured there would be no question of an enquiry when it revealed the plans for the new civil aerodrome.

The new civil aerodrome was to be known as London Airport. Three hamlets were sacrificed to increase the area to 3000 acres. One was Hatton which existed to the south of the field, spanning what is now the Great Southwest Road, in the vicinity of the present day London Underground station. The second hamlet was Perry Oaks on the western side of the aerodrome; some of the cottages of this hamlet together with a sewage works survived within the airfield until the end of the 20th century. The Third hamlet was Heath Row after which the airport was renamed three decades later.

Two months after the end of the war in Europe, on the 5th July 1945 a General Election was held, the result being a majority for the Labour Party with Mr. Clement Atlee as Prime Minister. The design of the new aerodrome was then in the hands of a new Government. The first essential requirement for the new ‘all grass’ airport was heavy load bearing runways. Two of these were completed in record time, number One, on the northern sector of the field and aligned East/West; number Two on the eastern sector of the field, aligned Northeast/Southwest, these were completed at the end of 1945 and in early 1946 respectively. These two runways created a prominent “V” of new ‘off white concrete’ in the muddy landscape which, until a little more than a year earlier, was producing food for the beleaguered population of Britain.

This initial part of the aerodrome was completed in early 1946. Two more runways had been commissioned, a second East/West on the south of the airfield and a shorter one Northwest/Southeast. Work began on these when numbers one and two had been completed. The shorter NW/SE runway was never used for a take-off or landing but did come in handy as parking space for aircraft between flights. Runways one and two officially became operational on the 28th May 1946. However, many departures and arrivals had taken place prior to that date, the first of which was a converted Lancastrian of British South American Airways on a long distance proving flight.

During World War two the American aircraft manufacturers, being remote from bombing and with much greater production capacity, were able to produce many aircraft for the conveyance of human beings in addition to the machines of war. When the war ended, this placed them in a good position to provide aeroplanes for the re-born airlines and also to provide potential newcomers to the industry, with machines at competitive prices. For this reason many long haul passengers and cargoes were carried from and to Britain in American built aeroplanes, for many years after the war.

Very soon after the war ended, Pan American Airways, T.W.A, and American Overseas Airlines had passenger services operating between the U.S.A. and Europe, with Lockheed Constellations and Douglas DC4s. The services to and from London began in the middle of 1946. However, very little commercial cargo was carried eastbound on these flights to London Airport, possibly because the UK was broke and could not afford to buy much from the US. Even those who could afford to buy were cagey about paying for airfreight which was much dearer than ocean freight. There was little air cargo moving west as production for export had to wait until factories could be built to replace those destroyed during many years of military activity. There were however, plenty of Government and military materials needed to sustain the occupation forces in Germany. There were payloads west-bound at the maximum level for a considerable time, conveying thousands of war-brides to America, and Canada.

These were one way trips for the passengers; and for the baggage that occupied most of the capacity of the aircraft holds. Many of these flights commenced the journey within mainland Europe and were full to capacity. Upon landing at London Airport they were normally required to offload many passengers. This was due to the need for additional fuel for crossing the Atlantic, where strong head-winds were always a possibility. Many of the off-loaded brides were transferred to B.O.A.C. services, which during that period frequently had surplus capacity, in spite of the number of British brides heading west.

B.O.A.C. inaugurated a service from Poole to Sydney on the 12th of May 1946 and a service from Poole to Hong Kong on the 1st of August 1946. A British South American Airways weekly service to Caracas via the Azores, Bermuda and Jamaica commenced on the 2nd September 1946 by Lancastrian Aircraft. B.O.A.C. already operated services by Hythe Flying-boats from Poole to Johannesburg. Only a modest amount of commercial cargo moved by the flying boats services, due in some measure to the problems of ground handling.

The long haul carriers, namely Qantas, to and from Australia and South African Airways to and from Africa, operated pool services with B.O.A.C. with Lockheed Constellations from London Airport. All the Flying Boat Services to Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong made numerous re-fuelling stops, some of which included over-night stays. The passengers were provided with hotel accommodation at the expense of the airline but were required to buy vouchers, prior to departure for the purpose of paying for any modest purchases made in the hotels.

This was obligatory, due to strict currency regulations in force which prevented passengers from taking more than a few pounds in traveller’s cheques cashable only at destination. In addition to these services there was one B.O.A.C. land based weekly service to Australia from London Airport by ‘Lancastrian’, a few converted Lancaster bombers which during the war carried many tons of bombs, carried only nine passengers to Sydney in considerable discomfort and torture to the ear-drums. Mail and cargo was carried on the Lancastrians, although there was more than adequate “lift” the stowage areas would have required considerable modification, the cost of which could not be justified.

On the 1st August 1946 the section of B.O.A.C. handling all flights to European destinations, became a separate company entitled British European Airways and began operating exclusively from Northolt Airport.

When the new Government planned the new air Gateway to Britain, it was decided to have the passenger terminals in the centre of the field. The main reasons being, according to the wise men in Government, was, that the type of people who would be flying from the airport would have chauffeurs or use taxis as they did in the 1930s at Croydon. In consequence there would be no need for car-parks. Nothing changes, the politicians in that new Government had as little knowledge of the real world as those we suffer to-day. The increasing need for car parking space in the centre of the airport, hampered many subsequent developments in the Central Area that could have been beneficial.

Whilst the plans were being drafted and finance authorised, the very space where the first terminal was to be built became the location of a Travelling Funfair which appeared there each Bank Holiday in the Spring and Summer. It is possible that this funfair had used this site before it was decided to enlarge what had been a small private aerodrome. The Roundabouts, Helter-Skelter, Swinging Boats, Coconut-shies, and Fortune-telling Booth, were well attended every holiday weekend. This lasted until the late 1940s when construction of the first Terminal was due to commence and the mechanical diggers, heavy lorries and the whole paraphernalia of the construction industry took the area over.

Air Cargo, moved via London Airport as soon as scheduled passenger services operated from the newly commissioned airport. It must be appreciated that many thousand tons of air cargo had moved, worldwide before the outbreak of WWII, that from and to the UK being handled at Croydon. Some of the pioneers of the Air Cargo fraternity rejoined the Industry in 1945/6 having served in the forces in sundry areas of the world. Many of the European aeroplanes such as the Viking, the Elizabethan and the Languedoc, built soon after the end of hostilities were small with limited cargo capacity. The York was the largest and provided both passenger and cargo service on some intermediate routes, mainly as Charter operations. The Douglas DC3 (Dakota) was American built and operated by many of the worlds’ airlines including most of the European carriers was also small. Consequently the very early post-war Cargo operations at London Airport were small, in package size and in overall tonnage.

During the initial years, the very absence of office or warehouse premises on or in the vicinity of London Airport prevented most Air Cargo Agents from establishing facilities for handling and processing cargo. This situation was not surprising, bearing in mind that the main Passenger Terminal comprised a series of ex military canvas marquees. As the building in the central area would take a long time to complete, an interim passenger terminal was erected; this was but a pre-fabricated affair on the northern edge of the field.

During the remainder of the 1940s, only a few agents had succeeded in finding anywhere on or in close proximity to the aerodrome, offices above petrol stations on the A4, lock-up garages in local gardens, were some of the spaces acquired but the one that took the biscuit, was the first forwarder to station himself on London Airport in 1946, with a licence for a van. His office was set up in the back of a Standard 10cwt van. It contained a desk, a chair, a typewriter and a steel cabinet, and was ostensibly illuminated by two 12 volt bulbs that some fool had wired in series, with the result that they were virtually useless. If he needed a telephone he had to depend upon the good nature of the BOAC clerks. Fortunately, there was a general feeling of being involved in something new and fascinating, and co-operation was the word of the day. It lasted for months and worked wonders, even after the bureaucrats stepped in.

The growth of air travel was quite rapid, on the 15th April 1947 a B.O.A.C. service was inaugurated from London Airport to Montreal via Prestwick and Gander. On the 1st July a twice weekly service from London Airport to Karachi by Handley Page Halton aircraft commenced. On the 14th July a weekly service to Colombo via Tripoli, Cairo, Basra, Bahrain and Karachi commenced operations with Handley Page Haltons. This expansion was making this terminal almost burst at the seams within a year of completion, which necessitated the addition of a few extensions. Bearing in mind that this was a temporary Terminal, it was a very functional unit, with an excellent restaurant and bar, facilities for sending cables, which occupied two very busy counters, a flower shop and Bureau de Change.

All this in addition to checking passengers in for their flights, processing and checking the weight of the baggage and ensuring that travellers did not have any U.K. currency on their person, or wander away from the lounge and be absent when boarding commenced. It kept the passengers comfortable and dry until it was time for them to board their flight, at which moment they walked to the aeroplane, whatever the weather. Passengers arriving at London Airport walked from the aircraft to the in-bound section of the Terminal where baggage was retrieved and declared to H.M. Customs.

An existing building slightly to the west of the Interim Terminal; surrendered either by Fairey Aviation or the R.A.F. comprised of three parallel units, the smallest of which on the side nearest to the Terminal was converted into a Medical cum first-aid facility. The middle section of the building became the Terminal for Domestic flights. The final part, constructed of corrugated iron was the Import Cargo Shed for handling the imported Air Cargo for all the Airlines. Being adjacent to the main entrance to the airport which was about a hundred yards east of a country pub called the Three Magpies, the Cargo Shed was conveniently placed for the collection of the cargo. Its main claim to fame being, that it was he site of the ‘Great Bullion Battle,’ which occurred in 1946 that any of the residents of the time would describe at the drop of a hat, with relish and considerable detail.

This Import Cargo Shed was severely practical, consisting as it did of three small offices along the right-hand wall and a concrete floor. No computer, no machinery no racks. Nothing but space but unfortunately, not enough of that, the Cargo Shed occupied only half of the building; the 50% facing the runway housed a considerable quantity of equipment related to aircraft maintenance. Immediately adjacent to the entrance to the Cargo Shed stood, by some fortunate chance, a small boiler house, subsequently a source of considerable comfort to the few visitors awaiting the clearance of their goods.

The Cargo Shed was operated by B.O.A.C. handling the imported cargoes for all the airlines. This arrangement did not suit the Airlines whose cargo was being ‘handled’ by persons other than their own staff and being a major ‘raison d’etre’ for the airport’s very existence; they were determined to have the situation rectified. Without a Cargo Handling Unit, the goods could not be physically moved; without clearance by H.M. Customs within the Cargo Shed the goods would not be permitted to move, so until a suitable remedy could be found they were in the hands of B.O.A.C.

The roadway from the entrance to the airport continued south, toward Runway One, between the Interim Terminal and the First Aid Unit, to the aircraft stand, (known as an apron or the tarmac) an area of concrete large enough to park about twenty aircraft, though that many were never seen there. Adjacent to this was a small area of enclosed lawn in which stood a stone statue of Captain John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown. These two pioneers flew a modified World War One Vickers Vimy IV, Bomber non stop, from Canada to Europe. Leaving Lester's Field, near St. Johns, Newfoundland on June 14, 1919 and landing June 15, 1919 at Clifden in Ireland. The time for the crossing was sixteen hours, and twenty seven minutes.

The roadway also had an immediate branch to the left, just inside the main entrance, it passed along the front of the pre-fabricated Terminal. It continued eastward but beyond the Terminal, the surface was far from suitable for pedestrians or wheeled vehicles. It was constructed of old railway sleepers and after any rain, which was very often, it became a quagmire, the soil beneath the sleepers became liquefied and squirted up between them when any load was placed upon them.

The hut allocated to H.M. Customs and Excise as ‘The Long Room’, was situated over three hundred yards from the Cargo Shed and was ‘home’ to a handful of ‘Clerical Officers’ who had mistakenly allowed themselves to be posted to the new port. The forwarder of the day, looking about him on London Airport, soon came to a firm conclusion, whoever the place was designed to serve, it certainly wasn’t him. Nowhere was there any provision for the Air-Cargo Agent.

A trip to the Long Room from the Cargo shed, was a journey that agents’ had to make very frequently, the obvious route was to walk past the Interim Terminal. This was not a good idea, as one could be confronted by the sea of mud. Because of this, the preferred route was along the roadway between the brick building and the interim Terminal toward number one runway. Then across the concrete ‘apron’, where several aeroplanes were parked but never anywhere near twenty. (This area is now the location of a large hotel inside the airport boundary.) The route across the tarmac was strictly forbidden by those who never visited the location but thankfully those on tarmac duty did not enforce the prohibition.

Having commenced the journey across ‘forbidden’ territory, the odd problem could arise. An aeroplane about to taxi to the runway was likely to cause a very windy condition for a mere pedestrian, so one did not proceed until it had moved on to the taxi track. Walking in front of a parked aeroplane might have appeared to be less hazardous but did not endear you to the pilot who was about to start the engines. In any case the Marshal on tarmac duty, fully appreciating why you were taking that route and always gave advice as to the best course of action, rather than ask “what the hell do you think you’re doing”.

Having reached the eastern end of the tarmac, there was still a hundred yards to walk to the Long Room, which was situated beyond an unused workshop that was scheduled to be converted into an Import Cargo Unit for the exclusive use of B.O.A.C. A little further, a turn left into a narrow pathway revealed at the end, the entrance to the Long Room. The Long Room, was worth seeing, so too were the looks of disbelief on the faces of the uninitiated, because the Room was many things but it was certainly not Long. Cosy would appear to be a more apt description. It offered sufficient space for no more than five desks, which was really of little consequence as there were only four Clerical Officers on the Station, one of whom was Head Clerical Officer who was not involved in the daily chore of passing Entries.

Through the rain spattered window of The Long Room, ‘it always seemed to be raining’ was a view of the taxi track and Number One runway, both of which were invariably deserted, however the welcome sight at the end of the hut was the open fireplace. This was in red brick, with a tiled hood and a genuine coal fire, which made it very easy to accept, that getting the Entry passed would take at least ten minutes. With a little forethought, the ten minutes could be protracted to half an hour, pleasantly discussing the events of the day (‘did you see the landing of that bloody York yesterday?’) a cigarette or two perhaps, even a cup of tea. Yes a very pleasant place that Long Room, the beneficial effect of which was unfortunately soon dispelled by the windy struggle back to the Cargo Shed.

The one joy to be extracted from the constant hiking from end to end of the tarmac was the variety of aircraft to be seen. In the earliest days the evidence of Britain’s recent pre-occupation with military aircraft was plain to see. Civilian’ versions of the Lancaster and Halifax bombers were frequent visitors, the only British transport produced during the war; the York, which had a slab-sided fuselage, high wings, a twin tail developed from the Lancaster and powered by the same engines, four Rolls Royce Merlins. No real match for the sleek Constellations which flew in from New York more and more frequently as the months went by. Then, as now, the British flag was carried across the Atlantic on an American aircraft, but perhaps that was better than nothing. The faithful old Dakota made its appearance among its larger cousins, as did the DC4 Skymaster, the odd Curtis Commando and even an occasional presence of a British De Haviland Dragon Rapide.

The work on the Shed for B.O.A.C. was urgent from their point of view as the general service they provided to all carriers was resented; the sooner they could concentrate on their own traffic only, the sooner harmony among all carriers would exist. The building was given high priority by B.O.A.C. and as it was a modification rather than a new construction it was completed in a comparatively short space of time. While the new B.O.A.C. cargo shed was being completed, the adjacent road had been relieved of its railway sleepers and brought up to the required standard. This shed also handled Qantas and South African Airways cargo. With the decent road from the original Cargo Shed, to the Long Room, the route across the Apron was no longer used.

Agents now found their travels had increased; they needed to visit the new shed to collect documents, they also had to call at the original import shed near the Airport entrance, to collect documents. These were then taken to their “office” wherever that might be, so the importer could be advised of the arrival and instructions taken regarding the clearance. The Entries for these imports had to be prepared at their office and then taken to the Long Room. Any Entry rejected by Customs had to be taken back to the ‘office’ for amendment and then re-lodged. Cleared Entries had to be presented at two locations separated by almost 300 yards.

The location of the Landing Officers who carried out the inspection of the consignments in the original Shed was in a Prefab unit adjacent to the Airside of the Interim Terminal. The location of the Landing Officers making the examinations in the B.O.A.C. Shed was in a building behind the Long Room. Delays could usually be encountered at each location, either waiting for the packages to be produced for examination, or waiting for the Landing Officer to arrive at the shed or even more frustrating waiting for him to complete the examination of a package already being checked.

The forwarder (he was never called anything but ‘agent’ in those days) in June 1946 was, as explained above, itinerant. His wanderings within London Airport were a matter of necessity rather than choice, and his problems were compounded by the establishment of the export shed at Meadowbank, about a mile down the Bath Road. Here again simplicity and common-sense were the order of the day, and BOAC export staff were just as helpful as their colleagues on the airport. It was not unknown for a truck leaving with a load for a departing flight to carry a stranded agent as well, and to drop him off as it turned into the airport.

It was not only the airline staff who played Nelson when an occasion required. The Landing Officers, who were few in number, were concerned only to do their jobs without inconveniencing anyone, and made allowances for any inexperience of almost everyone with whom they came in contact. Anyone in trouble, whether an agent or a member of the public could be sure of sound advice provided that he came clean with the officer concerned. It very soon became an essential feature of London Airport operations, that errors and difficulties were frequently overcome by mutual trust between individuals. A verbal undertaking was, in those Utopian days always honoured, at least in the personal experience of those who have survived to the twenty-first century, the pattern of integrity so established was an advantage to all.

Every advantage of that nature, however slight, was certainly badly needed. Here was an infant industry struggling to find its feet whilst burdened not only with the practices of the pre-war sea-ports but with the severest restrictions on international trade necessitated by this country’s war-time impoverishment. Some nations became rich and powerful between 1939 and 1945. Britain was bled white, consequently international commerce, although essential to our survival as a nation was controlled with a rigidity that we would find difficult to imagine today.

A LITTLE HELP WITH ACCOMMODATION

As the months passed a stable pattern began to emerge, agents increased in number, from one, to three to a dozen and most could not obtain any space on London Airport. The desperate need was finally recognized by the Ministry, after the submission by the agents of a strong plea for help in respect of the appalling lack of suitable accommodation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation claimed to be sympathetic but there was little they could do with regard to extra buildings. There were still many other priorities for buildings, needed for the running of the airport. At that time all the air cargo activity took place on the north side of the aerodrome which, to say the least was in need of urgent improvement. Whilst the Ministry was unable to provide any prefabricated accommodation, a little help was provided in the form of some military trucks for use as offices.

These were unique! Ex army desert vehicles with the bodies about ten feet long, about six feet wide, with a height of a little over six feet, the sides of the units comprised of two panels the length of the body and a little over three feet wide. One panel was hinged at the bottom to open downward, to form an extension to the floor; the other panel was hinged at the top to open upward, thus forming an extension to the roof. When both panels were opened the overall area of the unit was increased by approximately thirty square feet. Several support posts were provided, some to hold the lower panel in position above the ground, others to retain the extended roof firm. The ‘extension’ was the completely enclosed with a sturdy canvas screen that was attached to the entire exterior of the extension but unfortunately the transparent panels in the canvas screens were exceedingly tired after service in the desert and excluded much of the light. The panels were present on both sides giving an overall increase in area of 60 square feet if required but as far as is known this was not utilised.

These ‘offices’ were connected to the electricity supply but only for lighting, no luxury of electric fires. They were draughty and inconvenient, being sited well away from the “New” B.O.A.C. Cargo shed, and the Long Room. The agents who were allocated one were grateful, to at least have an enclosure in which to work a little extra light and their own telephone to hand was a dream come true. These vehicles tended to remind some of the occupants of the more hazardous and energetic days in the desert with memories of lots of sunshine and soothing warmth or blistering heat in the day and freezing nights. Unfortunately this was the beginning of 1947 when the UK suffered ice and snow from the first week of January until the third week of March. The occupants, with only a smelly Valor paraffin stove to heat the unit,would certainly have welcomed some of the warmth that these trucks had experienced two or three years earlier. These most welcome units of accommodation were greatly appreciated as the year progressed and the weather improved.

Toward the end of the 1940s, an enormous amount of work was taking place; the additional land that had been acquired by ‘Compulsory Purchase’ was being developed. New perimeter and taxi tracks were laid, with new aircraft parking aprons, together with the two runways. The Control Tower in use was the one previously used by the R.A.F. and Fairey Aviation on the north side of the field but a new one had been designed by Frederick Gibberd to be built opposite the Terminal in the centre of the airfield. The access to the Central Area was to be via a twin bore road tunnel from the north perimeter, the construction was to be cut and cover. Work began early in 1948, the cover had to be particularly strong as the tunnel passed under number one runway and ‘sod’s law’ was bound to decree that many a heavy touch down would be dead centre.

Unfortunately this meant the end of the Desert Trucks as offices. The area in which these eight units had been parked, had become the site through which the ‘slip-road’ from the Perimeter down to the tunnel to the Central Area was to be cut. During the period before the diggers started excavation, a few old huts became vacant and some of the agents were transferred, the units were smaller than the trucks and there were not enough for all the agents involved. Those who missed out had an anxious time until they found somewhere off the airport.

DEVELOPMENT

During the mid fifties work on the first permanent terminal in the centre of the airport, was complete; it comprised two units. The Queen’s Building and the new Passenger Terminal, (EUROPA) in which passengers ‘Checked in’ for their flights, with those for European destinations at one end and those for domestic flights at the other. The upper level of this Terminal housed offices and a comfortable lounge, where passengers could wait with friends to while away any time before they had to be in the Departure Lounge. A very good restaurant was there to serve passengers and sightseers, and the observation area on the upper level of the adjacent Queen’s Building could be accessed from this lounge.

Between the Terminal and the Queen’s Building at ground level was a vehicle access to the Air Side which was a restricted area as far as the public were concerned. From the main concourse within the terminal a passageway gave access to the numerous offices in the Queen’s Building. These offices were occupied among others, by units of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the airport Meteorological Unit which supplied the route forecast’s for each departure.

The new Control Tower was completed in 1955 being opened on 1st April around the same period that the Terminal commenced handling passengers; it provided uninterupted views of the airfield and the adjacent terrain through 360 degrees.

The excitement with and the mystery of commercial aviation at that time was considerable with the non-flying public. The observation area on part of the roof of the Queen’s Building was available for the public and friends of passengers, to watch luggage being put aboard aeroplanes and a short time later watch forty or fifty ‘very brave people’ walk across the concrete apron, up the transportable stairway and into the aeroplane. When all the passengers were on board and doors secured, the Ground Handler would signal to the Captain of the aircraft to indicate that it was safe to start the engines.

The excitement grew when the engines were started and smoke from the exhausts was forced backward by the rotating propellers and the relative peace was shattered by the engine noise. The Ground Handler then waited while the crew completed their cockpit check, after which he received a signal to remove the chocks from the wheels, allowing the aircraft move forward. The ‘apron’ was broad enough for the aeroplanes to park, allowing sufficient room in front, to taxi forward and turn toward the runway, still avidly watched and photographed by the many sightseers. After all the excitement of watching a free show for an hour or more the sightseers could retire to the restaurant adjacent to the viewing area for morning coffee or afternoon tea or maybe lunch or even dinner. On the other hand, if the weather was in a friendly mood the sightseers could stay and watch a continuous performance.

A little over a year after the opening of the new Terminal plans were put forward for a large Terminal required for the Long-Haul Services. These were duly amended, adjusted and finally agreed that it would be situated north-west of new Terminal. This was opened on November 13th 1961 and classified as (Oceanic Building). A multi story car park was erected facing the entrance to this Terminal. At the time of opening the Terminal only handled departing passengers; those arriving from overseas were still processed in the pre-fabricated terminal on the North side of the aerodrome. In 1968 Oceanic Building was renamed Terminal 3 and in 1970 an extension was completed to facilitate the arriving passengers and baggage check by Customs.

Like the Europa Terminal there was some spare office accommodation. It was the type that facilitated the move of staff, who did not handle cargo. The move from pre fabricated units made those available for staff involved with packages as well as office work. As time progressed many Pre-fabricated huts were erected along the road parallel with the A4 eastward from the main entrance, from which area the last of the temporary marquees had been removed, Air France occupied one of these huts with admin staff and K.L.M. moved into another, the Long Room was moved to Hut 105 adjacent to these, leaving behind, the cosy room with the red fireplace. Sundry other huts in the same group had more than one airline or other company as tenants.

While Oceanic Building was being erected B.O.A.C., planned a new Cargo Facility in the Central Area; when the design had been agreed within the Airline, the Architects, jointly with B.O.A.C., held a meeting in a London hotel to acquaint the agents with the full details. It was a very good presentation with Flip Charts, large screen projections of the Location and layout. The Mechanised area of the Import Section was explained in considerable detail. The agents were advised of a new facility that would be available within the Terminal for agents who were interested; namely ‘Cages’. These cages were to be available to agents for an annual rental and all consignments for clearance by the ‘Tenant’ Agent would be delivered to the cage upon arrival in the building.

This gave the agent complete control of the consignments; instant access to them for presentation to H.M. Customs, without involving and being dependent upon a third party. The agent would charge the Importer the ‘Handling fee’ but would not have to pass it on to B.O.A.C. A further provision was introduced after the system had been in operation for some time; an agent renting a cage was then permitted to contract with other agents, to handle their import consignments.

The Export Section was presented in like manner but raised a doubt in the minds of a few of the agents. The drawings appeared to show that the proposed gangways between the rows of racking, to be too narrow to allow a forklift truck to function properly. When this possible problem was raised by an agent, the tenor of the presentation changed, some of the presenters were not happy to be doubted on such a basic point. The point of contention being on the ability to operate a fork truck in such narrow passageways; many of the agents had long experience of this problem, whereas the architects were working on calculation. The agents were politely requested to leave the matter, this they did and the remainder of the presentation went without a hitch.

When the B.O.A.C. Cargo Facility opened in the early 1960s there were a few problems with the automated system which caused the mis-direction of several consignments but the difficulties were slowly resolved and when it at last functioned as planned, it was, from the agent’s viewpoint exceedingly efficient. Unfortunately from the operator’s experience the fork-lift trucks manoeuvred well in the gangways between the racks as long as there were no boxes on the forks, they got wedged quite frequently when loaded with cargo. This inconvenience necessitated making some of the gangways wider, with related expense and disruption.

The introduction of ‘Cages’ for agents in the Import Section was also introduced by British European Airways in their Cargo Facility in Hangar 7, situated on the east of the airfield adjacent to the Perimeter road. This facilitated considerable co-operation between agents; one with a cage in the Import Unit of B.O.A.C. and another with a cage in Hangar 7.

The move of the B.O.A.C. Cargo Unit to the centre of the airport created a movement of other airline facilities, the vacated shed was promptly taken over by one of the other large operators, that second vacated shed was taken over with equal speed by a another airline.

EXPORTS.

The prime document was the Airline Air-waybill required for each shipment; each Airline produced their own; the design and layout was identical for each carrier except for the name of the airline at the top. The Airwaybills comprised twelve very thin pages each printed with a multitude of headings in respect of the details of the shipment. These pages were interleaved with eleven sheets of very thin carbon paper and were in use internationally for some years prior to their use at the new London Airport. When these Airwaybills were first introduced they bore an instruction {to be completed in BLOCK LETTERS with indelible pencil}.

The clerks completed them with indelible pencil. However, to obey the instruction and to get readable copies, which needed a great deal of pressure on the pencil, it was common practice to complete them in two sets of six pages. This was occasioned by the fact that sharpening the pencil should not be too severe, as this resulted in the top page and carbon paper being torn by a sharp point, the less sharp point met resistance in making an impression on the lower pages. The arrival of the Ball-point pen made the indelible pencil redundant, the ball-point was abandoned when common sense prevailed and the typewriter was used. The clerks who were mainly two finger typists produced better copies than the touch typist, although the machines certainly suffered in the process. The information to be typed could vary considerably in a day’s throughput as can be gleaned from the list of boxes on the AWB.

These being:

Airport of Destination--
Name and Address of Consignee--Name and Address of any Third Party—
Number of packages—Type of Package—Nature and Quantity of Goods—Marks and Numbers—
Dimensions or Volume—Gross Weight—Documents to Accompany the Airwaybill
Value for Customs, Value for Carriage, Chargeable Weight, Rate Classification, Rate per kilo,
Freight Prepaid, Freight Collect and ‘Charges Collect’ a separate panel had to be completed if either of these facilities were utilised by the shipper. Separate panels had to be completed for “Cash on Delivery” or for other extraneous sums due from the consignee.

The last items at the bottom of the page were the Name and Address of Shipper; the Name and address of the Agent.

The method and level of charging for the carriage of air cargo on international flights was co-ordinated
and controlled by The International Air Transport Association (I.A.T.A.). Charges were always a rate
per kilogram. The basic rate applicable between any two airports was known as the ‘General Rate’ it
was used for consignments exceeding the minimum charge up, to forty-five kilos. The minimum charge
per shipment was established by (I.A.T.A.). Tariffs were produced by each individual airline each
showing the identical prices, they also included a rates per kilo for consignments in excess of forty-five
kilos. These were known as the ‘Quantity Rate’, this was the General Rate discounted by 25%.

These discounted rates created a breakpoint, at which it became cheaper to pay 45 times the Quantity Rate than the actual number of kilos at the ‘General Rate’. For example, 34 kilos @ £1.0s.0d would cost £34.0s.0d but as 45 kilos @ 15/- per kilo it would only cost £33.15s.0d. Or in modern phraseology 34 @ £1.00 would cost £34.00, as 45 kilos @ 75p it would only cost £33.75. Some routes offered further discounts at one hundred kilos. Rates had to be agreed and charged by all the airlines that were members of (I.A.T.A.) operating scheduled flights between the airports in question.

A package of considerable volume but little weight is charged on a volume formula; this being 427 cubic inches being the equal of 1 kilo. The chargeable rate was calculated by multiplying the Length; by the Breath and Depth of the package in inches and dividing by 427.

e.g. 20 x 15 x 17 = 5100 divided by 427 = 11. 8 giving a chargeable weight of 12 kgs.

The airlines introduced special rates for specific cargoes with the approval of (I.A.T.A.). These Special rates aimed to capture traffic that had hitherto moved by sea. These were known as Specific Commodity Rates and were available only for specific goods, from specified departure points to specified destinations, for consignments at or in excess of specified weights.

Documents required in respect of exports could include, Export Licence, Currency Declaration and a 29(Sale) or some other piece of paper, to facilitate release from the airport, to an overseas destination. Having cleared from the UK, other documents such as Certificate of Origin, Import Licence or Consular Invoices might be needed to facilitate entry at the destination.

Markets for the products had to be established and in this respect, Britain was competing with numerous other countries that were in a similar post war situation, the agents’ staff had to be very knowledgeable, one ‘cock-up’ through incorrect information could lose a valuable customer. The knowledge of what was required in respect of each type of export to the numerous destinations was gleaned from various publications. To obtain a necessary Export Licence, application had to be made to the Export Licensing Department of The Board of Trade. In the early days the requirements frequently changed at very short notice making the risk of giving inaccurate information to an exporter a real possibility. The lack of suitable accommodation did not help the situation, without adequate space, to file updates they could easily be misplaced. On occasions working by the light of hurricane lamp or candle (power cuts were very frequent at London Airport) it was difficult to identify the most recent change to regulations.

The same problems affected the processing of import consignments to a greater extent as the Import Entry could involve separate forms for different types of goods. A consignment of multiple items, classed under different headings was a nightmare at any time but not having the luxury of a bright office made the work of the entry clerks almost impossible.

Most agents handled both imports and exports for their clients, these two processes were best carried out by two separate departments within the agency, to ensure giving an efficient service. This was in many cases out of the question for economic reasons, where everything was in the hands of one or two stalwarts, they certainly earned their remuneration. It was imperative that all the various rules and regulations were adhered to; many pitfalls were avoided, with the help of other agents who had faced the same situations, this help was greatly appreciated and was part of the valuable co-operation between competitors. In those early days, there was a great deal of restriction on a wide variety of cargo, this was due to the fact that the UK was virtually bankrupt at the end of the war. Very tight control was imposed on both licensing in respect of imports, and collection of payment for the exports.

Many manufacturers had changed from war production, to domestic products; this necessitated a considerable change to the procedures in respect of imports and exports. Where, in the recent past the items would have been despatched to a customer or ordered from a supplier resident abroad in accordance with a military directive, this was now the total responsibility of the manufacturer or importer, who, in turn relied on the agent to give concise details of the documents required.

The growth of Air Cargo established it as an industry in its own right; movements were increasing in number, in weight and in package size, but the availability of accommodation for the handling of the cargo, was not keeping pace with the growth. In fact it should have been out-striping the immediate needs, so as to accommodate the large number of newcomers to the Industry who were operating from the cities or towns with reasonable access to the airport. There were many such companies, anticipating a move to London Airport but facing utter frustration and being obliged to work from an office in London or in an area near the Airport.

These agents were in dire need of vans to collect consignments and make deliveries to the Airport. B.O.A.C. had long operated a cargo unit at Glasgow Terrace in southwest London, where clients dealt directly with the airline. A collection facility, basically to collect export goods and deliver imported goods to or from direct customers was of considerable of benefit to the agents. By prior arrangement the vans serving the direct customers would also collect cargo and documentation from the agents’ premises. This ‘ready to load’, cargo was taken with the cargo and paperwork that had been processed at Glasgow Terrace, by truck to the B.O.A.C Export cargo unit.

This unit was situated at Meadowbank, on the Bath Road about a mile east of the main entrance to London Airport. Here the consignments were sorted by flight and destination for delivery to the airport by truck when the appropriate aeroplane was on the stand and available for loading. K.L.M. The Royal Dutch Airline, one of the earliest commercial carriers, established on the 7th October 1919, operated an identical system from their depot at ‘Jockey’s Fields’ in central London.

Whilst these collections were a great help to agents, it was not as satisfactory as having complete control. In this direction many agents wished to operate their own vehicles to collect packages from their clients, complete the paper-work in the city office and take the cargo and the documentation to the Airlines at London Airport. To operate their own vehicles for this type of service the agent required a Licence issued by the Council of the district in which the agent was resident. The law in existence at that time required an applicant for a licence to submit a detailed reason why a vehicle was required; this same law stated that a copy of the application had to be sent by the Council Licence Authority, to every existing Licenced operator of such vehicles for hire in the particular area.

Each existing vehicle operator was advised by the Authority that they were entitled to object to the issue of such a new licence by submitting a detailed reason for the objection. If an objection was received, (and they always were) the applicant then had to fight for the licence through the court. Although many of the agents were successful in getting the required piece of paper it created an unnecessary delay and expense. Those who were unsuccessful, were obliged to hire vans either as required, or on a fixed contract; in many instances the hiring was, of necessity from one or other of the companies who had objected to their licence applications. The quality and reliability of some of the vehicles that were provided under the contracts by some of the ‘objectors’, left much to be desired in respect of condition, appearance and more importantly reliability.

To create a system independent of collection by airlines or transport companies, groups of agents formed syndicates to operate a combined service, similar to that offered by the two airlines but under agent control. One of these was Air Agents Associated, who managed to rent a very tired cottage near the airport; another was Groupair who likewise, managed to secure a facility in which to handle the pre-documented, cargo that had been collected from their ‘Members’ for delivery to the airline cargo sheds. These syndicate companies also presented to H.M. Customs and Excise at London Airport, Import Entries, prepared by ‘Members’ in their town offices, to secure clearance of consignments. These consignments, when cleared would be delivered to the member or his client by a syndicate vehicle.

CONSOLIDATION

It became obvious to agents that the 25% discount between the General Rate and the Quantity Rate could be put to good use, by offering a ‘bulk’ service. Several small packages despatched as one consignment (providing the total weight was 45 kilos or more), each would be carried at the Quantity Rate, creating a discount to the agent of 25% on each of the separate small consignments. By creating a Consolidation Tariff which gave the shipper the benefit of a cheaper rate, ‘varying’ between 10% and 12% below the airline ‘general’ tariff, many shippers were persuaded to use Air Cargo.

The freight charged by the carrying Airline for the total Consolidation was on the total Gross Weight; this could create extra profit if the shipment included any items being ‘charged on volume’.

Only part of the 25% Discount could add to the Agent’s earnings, there was the cost of producing a tariff of rates, below those of the direct airlines, the House-waybills, and sub manifests. These absorbed some of the 25%. There were many operational requirements that cost money; as a bulk shipment, it could not be consigned to any one of the named consignees of the individual packages, the services of an efficient reliable agent at each destination served, was a critical requirement. The agent chosen as a partner was known as The Break Bulk Agent (BBA) or De-consolidator and was responsible for collecting the documents at destination from the carrying Airline. The bulk consignment would show the BBA as the consignee on the airline air-waybill, the BBA required recompense for the work involved in handling and processing the inbound consignments. This remuneration could be a share of the profit on the total shipment or a fixed remuneration.

As a result of having the consignment is his possession, the BBA had the opportunity of being required to carry out the Clearance through Customs and delivery to consignee, giving the BBA the chance to obtain revenue for the clearance and delivery. There was also a good chance of the BBA becoming appointed by that consignee to handle future imports, including those from other countries, such extra earnings, once they were established, could result in a re-assessment of the profit sharing on consolidation by mutual agreement.

As the system evolved there was a critical need for space in which to sort and assemble the cargo from several shippers into the single consignment; but there was still none available on the Airport. It was not a question of preparing just one consolidation each day; several were prepared to suit the scheduled departures for many destinations. For this reason many agents were obliged to assemble the consolidations’ in their town or city premises. This was an unwanted problem caused by the lack of suitable accommodation on London Airport. Many of the town offices were not on the ground floor, necessitating a lot of extra work when there was already much to be done in a short time.

A house airway-bill (H.A.W.B.) had to be completed for each component shipment; the (H.A.W.B.) included the same information as that required on an Airline waybill, for a direct shipment. The Airline air-waybill for each consolidation had to be completed freight paid, showing Break Bulk Agent as Consignee. A manifest in numerous copies had to be produced listing each (H.A.W.B.) number, Gross Weight, Contents and Value. The various copies were required by H.M. Customs at London Airport various departments of the carrying airline, Customs at destination and the Break-Bulk Agent at destination in addition to the Agent’s own records.

Operators of aircraft carrying cargo were and still are required by law, to provide a manifest of the total cargo on board, a copy of this is required by various parties, particularly Customs before the flight departs and Customs at destination. As a multiple consignment is shown on the airline waybill as ‘Consolidation’ a copy of the Sub- manifest produced by the agent had to be provided in sufficient copies to have one attached to each copy of the Airline manifests for each Consolidation. Completing the separate H.A.W.B’s, the numerous manifest copies plus the labels for each package, bearing the number of the Airline Waybill (Master Waybill) and the appropriate H.A.W.B., number, was very time consuming. The time required to prepare each consolidation and double check the multitude of details, was considerable and required un-congested space.

The complete consolidation was then delivered to the airline. If the agent was lucky enough to be based on or near London Airport it was difficult enough but based away from London Airport brought its own problems. With the time required to prepare each consolidation, timescales were a headache. It was totally uneconomic to deliver each consolidation as it became complete but a delay in waiting for a second or third to be completed, risked missing the delivery time for the first departure. This often made it necessary to run an additional delivery or accept a later departure that delayed arrival at destination, thereby reducing the quality of the service. When the flight was en-route the Consolidator confirmed the departure of the flight to the BBA by telex together with a copy of the sub manifest

Upon arrival of the bulk consignment at destination, the BBA would contact each of the individual importers to advise that the shipment had arrived and obtain instructions regarding what action was to be taken regarding clearance through Customs and subsequent delivery. The importer may already have an agent to clear his consignments, in which case the paperwork would be released to that agent for all further action. If the importer required the BBA to clear and deliver the consignment, that was a local transaction and of no concern of the agent in the UK. The third alternative might be that the UK Consolidator had instructions to show that agent as Consignee and the importer as an “also notify party”. The paperwork for this type of consignment would be released to the named agent without delay.

The work carried out by a BBA is involved and labour intensive and expense is incurred on communication as well as premises and personnel, for this reason agreement had to be reached regarding suitable remuneration prior to the first shipment. There were various ways of paying the BBA, (1) an invoice for a fixed fee in respect of each house-waybill, (2) an agreed percentage of the profit on each consolidation including airline commission, or (3) a percentage of profit excluding the airline commission. The BBA would be introduced to possible new clients by contact re arrivals; in cases where this was likely to be substantial it could be a secondary factor in operating agreements. Whatever system was adopted there was a considerable call on the 25% rate differential.

The introduction of consolidations resurrected the unilateral trust and help between groups of agents, many had good regular shipments to specific destinations but a small number to others. This created co-operation in the form of passing fully documented shipments, for inclusion in a consolidation by another agent and receiving shipments from that agent for inclusion in a consolidation to another destination. This ensured a higher percentage of profitable loads but at the same time spread the sharing even wider.

The Agents offering Consolidations who were members of The I.F.F. followed to a degree, the principal established between the Airlines and (I.A.T.A.) to agree rates. Many meetings were held to thrash out rates to a very large number of destinations and Consolidation Tariffs were produced. This new form of service created the first split in the hitherto helpful co-operation between agents which had done so much to accelerate the growth of Air Cargo. At first, agents who had a large throughput of cargo compatible with the consolidation formula accepted the idea of an agreed rating structure but found that it impeded expansion, so for commercial reasons they were obliged to abandon the agreed rates and charge varying rates, to suit a contract.

IMPORTS

Cargo from foreign supplier’s entering this country did, in many instances require a licence. This licence could be for a single consignment or it could be in respect of many consignments of like goods, from the same source; in which case the licence would be ‘written down’. This required the licence to be presented to H.M. Customs, with the Import Entry of each successive consignment, for endorsement by them. When the total items initially authorised, had landed and been written down by Customs, the licence was exhausted. It was the responsibility of the importer to apply to the Board of Trade for a new one and to allow sufficient time for it to be issued and delivered, if such importations were to continue. There were unwelcome problems with licences; due to the parlous state of Britain immediately after the war. Certain items could require a licence; then after a time be released from this requirement; only to have the need reintroduced at very short notice.

The result was that the Control Regulations, particularly as they applied to imports, were an agent’s nightmare, the more so as traders found the regulations (in their view) obstructive and expected shipping agents to (a) overcome them, (b) find loop-holes in them (c) ignore them or (d) tell lies to evade them, provided that the agent understood that all responsibility rested on his shoulders and no-one else’s. Perhaps some things have not changed all that much in the intervening years. In addition the country was cursed with regulations inherited from an earlier age relating to the entering to Customs of imported goods and these probably caused more difficulties to agents and officials alike than anything else.

First there was the Import List Description (ILD) which purported to list, in formal terms, every product known to mankind. Persons entering goods were required to use the precise wording shown in the ILD and the omission, for example, of the word ‘other’: after possibly, ‘other’ caused more anguish among agents that is decent to consider. Then it might be found that one’s goods were not listed in the ILD, or were, perhaps apparently listed under more than one heading. An hour could easily be spent in sorting this out, because in those days the custom was, for the Powers that be, to refuse (officially) any aid or clarification. The law stated that an importer or his agent was responsible for entering goods to Customs and it wasn’t up to the authorities to do it for him. And if the ILD wasn’t understood it was the agent’s fault and not the publisher’s, so there! As in many other areas, the unreasoning rigidity of the official attitude was overcome by the common-sense of individuals on both sides of the fence, and it was only this personal approach which enabled the wheels of industry to turn with any degree of freedom.

The second of the agent’s two ‘bibles’ was the Tariff, a poor thing compared with subsequent publication The Brussels Nomenclature that was not even foreseen at that time, and the Tariff was therefore designed to do a specific job regardless of other considerations. One of the snags was the necessity for assigning imported goods not only to a specific heading in the Tariff, but to the formal description in the ILD as stated above. Needless to say the two publications did not always match and again the goodwill of Landing Officers, Clerical Officers and the Statistical Office as well as agents was needed to avoid a total impasse.

At that time there was no written advice available to agents on the use of the Tariff. Again the official attitude all too often was ‘you enter it as you think fit, and then I’ll stop it if you’re wrong.’ Customs officials, however, were in possession of official explanatory notes, and the ‘back door’ was the only way of obtaining essential information. Fortunately, the great majority of Officers understood the need, but woe-betide any airline which was reputed to have a ‘by the book’ Officer posted to its station. It could, and did, lose considerable cargo revenue until the situation changed.

These few problems were common to all UK ports, not just to London Airport but here they became of major significance due to the time factor. An importer who had paid a considerable sum to speed delivery of his goods fondly believed that he had thereby acquired a right to priority treatment from HM Customs, the airlines, and of course, by the professional ‘buffer’, the agent. The attitude of many traders at that time was not easy to understand; the fact that he had saved upwards of seven days in transporting his goods from, a distant manufacturer became a liability instead of an asset, because the goods had frequently arrived before the trader had obtained an Import Licence or completed a C105. The resultant post-landing delay also incurred storage charges from the airline. This financial waste, due to the delay was a thorn in the Importer’s flesh; and his agent, as usual, suffered accordingly.

Furthermore, the cargo facilities for Agents at London Airport, as indicated earlier, were abysmal even for the tiny volume of 1946. When a load of freight was brought from an aircraft to the freight shed, there was only one place to put it – on the floor. This was soon covered with numerous heaps of packages that were only identified by some chalked flight numbers on the adjacent concrete. When a package was needed for examination – which was a high percentage of them–, the pile of goods would be raked over, pulled apart, piled-up until the wanted piece was located. It may well be imagined how quickly one plane-load became mixed with another and only the strenuous efforts of George, the renowned BOAC shed foreman of the time avoided utter chaos at the cost of much lurid comment from all concerned.

There were compensations of course, at least in the earliest days. The degree of informality and co-operation which existed, whilst everyone was trying to hammer out the systems which we subsequently came to know, would bring tears to the eyes of the sentimental. It was not unknown for an agent to stroll out on to the tarmac as an aircraft taxied in and to watch the dozen or so pieces fly out of the hatch on the off-chance that one of them might be his. The loaders, who would know him (everyone knew everyone!) would often help by holding one up for inspection. Neither was it unknown, for an agent who actually expected a particular piece of cargo – probably news-film or press photographs – to stand beside the hatch with a partially completed entry in his pocket, to grab a package as a loader flipped it over to him and to trot across to the Landing Office where the necessary formalities would be hastily completed and the goods released. The unofficial record from chocks-on to clearance was said to be eight minutes, give or take a few seconds.

Right from the very beginning Customs had foreseen the need for a much faster system of inward clearances than was common in other ports. Some improvement was achieved permitting the release of most goods to a ‘Standing Deposit’. In the first instances the deposits were nominal and with duties of 33.33% and even 50% being quite common, plus purchase tax at rates up to 125% just how nominal they were, became painfully obvious a few months later, when Customs instituted a check system. The dramatic increase in the size of standing deposits caused much pursing of lips and sucking of teeth in the agencyworld.

In the nature of things it could not be expected that the informality and ad hoc systems could continue. Do they ever? It became apparent that someone meant business when two events took place. Over one weekend someone installed racks in the cargo shed (they didn’t help all that much) and a Surveyor was appointed. Until that time the senior Customs official on the airport was a Chief Preventive Officer of Waterguard. It was never known how the Landing staff felt about that and it had never bothered any of the agents in the slightest. But a Surveyor……..!

The Officers who might have been thinking ‘Well that didn’t last long’ had no public comment to make but the agents were a trifle perturbed. The pre-war picture of a Surveyor was of a remote unseen being, rather like the Oracle, whose edicts were interpreted by lesser mortals and who was incapable of error. The said edicts appeared nearly always to confound the listener, which accounted for the slight air of despondency in the cargo shed that day. Happily the airport had been blessed with a man who not only intended to tidy things up from the Department’s point of view but who took the trouble to find out what it was all about and to act accordingly. Life soon became more orthodox but not impossibly so.

SOME LIGHT RELIEF

Not every aspect of life at London Airport became orthodox however in the nature of things the humorous episodes remain to gild the memory. In those days when goods which had been imported, were being re-exported on a Customs form 140 or 142 the signature of the Captain or First Officer of the aircraft was required to certify ‘seen on board’. The forms 140 and 142 were used on the exportation of cargo that had previously been imported, or cargo that was being exported and was expected to be re-imported, The aircrew naturally gave such a requirement a very low priority, when the pre flight checks were before them, and at least one agent whilst vainly trying to persuade anyone to sign the thing, found himself sealed on board an Elizabethan which was revving up prior to taxiing out. His desire for a signature rapidly gave way to an urgent need to get off and the harassed hostess was only too pleased to oblige. Someone else signed the 140 later that day.

The Elizabethan was a popular aircraft, but like all new machines, it had its problems. One agent, having seen a load of camera equipment (in baggage) stowed in the belly watched in silent fascination as the ground crew proceeded to jack up the port gear and remove the wheel, whilst the passengers were led across to a substitute machine on the next stand. The equipment stayed where it was.
But probably the epitome of co-operation was to be noted one morning when a chartered York bound for the Gulf was slowly taxiing across the tarmac toward the runway and the weary agent was totally shattered by the Charter’s representative shoving a bundle of documents into his hand and bawling in his ear “I forgot the paperwork! For God’s sake get it on board or I’m a dead duck!” In a moment the agent, to his astonishment and that of everyone in sight found himself sprinting after the York, waving the bundle of papers over his head and screaming his head off. To this day he has no idea what he expected to achieve and would in fact have achieved nothing without the help of the marshal who was calling the aircraft forward. Being a fair minded man as well as a sportsman and realizing that the odds were strongly in favour of the York, he waved it down and the grateful agent found himself gaining on it.

He rounded the tail and hammered on the side of the fuselage, wondering meanwhile what the Captain, the Customs and the Tower were going to do to him. The door suddenly opened in front of him. He threw the bundle in and had a brief glimpse of papers flying all over the interior, when the door slammed shut and the Captain got his own back by opening up the throttles and swinging the great tail round to the further discomfort of the exhausted agent. Strangely enough he heard not a word from anyone either then or later. Not even from his client, who had discreetly vanished.

The DC4, one of the early monsters had its little quirks. It was equipped with a tail strut by a realist who wanted the nose wheel to stay in contact with the ground during loading. On one occasion it served its purpose to the extent that when the total load was on board and the aircraft doors were closed, the strut was jammed tight between the tail and the tarmac. A member of the ground crew with an admirable sense of punctuality (but obviously no thought of trimming the load) kicked furiously at the strut many times until it finally sprang free and pin-wheeled away across the tarmac passing the bows of a baggage truck, its progress watched with intense interest by the driver.

TRADE REPRESENTATION AND TRAINING

A number of the companies dealing with ocean cargo had, many years earlier, formed a Trade Association, with the title of The Institute of Shipping and Forwarding Agents. (I.S.F.A.) this was the main organisation overseeing the well being of companies in the cargo industry. Some fledgling air cargo companies sought membership but were required to employ staff who had passed the Institute examinations. The Institute exams, at that time dealt principally with the requirements of seaborne cargo and the relevant Customs regulations. In spite of the shortcomings of the subjects, staff of several Air Cargo Agents sat the exams. Many of the existing ‘Ocean’ members of the Institute, opened departments specifically to deal with the cargo moving by air, and had staff already holding Institute qualification. Parts of the courses were of benefit particularly those dealing with Geography, H.M. Customs and Board of Trade regulations.

Here it is appropriate to take a temporary step forward of about a dozen years to the early sixties: those air cargo agents who had become members of the Institute, by previous ‘Ocean Shipping’ connections or, as an ambitious operator in the matter of ‘Air Cargo’ felt that the Institute was reluctant to develop an active body to serve the Air Cargo Agents to the same extent as it was serving to the Ocean Shipping Agents.

No training facilities existed to study for efficiency in the processing of airborne cargo; members involved solely with air cargo felt that the ‘old’ members did not consider that the carriage of goods by air was a serious contender to the methods of transport.

This resulted in a rather acrimonious meeting at London Airport one evening with the upper echelon of the Institute’s Council and a couple of dozen agents. After the exchange of some strong words from both sides constructive discussion took place which resulted in the formation of the ‘National Air Division of I.S.F.A.’ Volunteers came forward to serve on Committees and Working Parties to discuss problems which existed between Agents and Airlines and between Agents and H.M. Customs. The Institute’s title was changed many years later to ‘The Institute of Freight Forwarders’ and continued to give considerable help to the air cargo agents for many years.

TRADE UNIONS

The middle of 1949 saw the arrival of the Stratocruiser, one of the great post war propeller aeroplanes, it was the civilian version of the C97 Stratofreighter which made its maiden flight in July 1947. The Stratocruiser was extremely complex and expensive. Only 56 were built and saw service with most of the major airlines. It continued in mainline service until 1960. It was the flagship of the Pan American and B.O.A.C. fleets from delivery in 1949 until the arrival of the Boeing 707 in 1954. The Stratocruiser introduced new features into civil aviation, the most obvious being the appearance that it had a double fuselage. It was referred to as a ‘Double Bubble’ and facilitated a lower deck in which was housed a small ‘Cocktail Lounge’ that could seat six passengers at a time.

This was a great success as passengers were able to leave their allotted seat and spend a time relaxing in an atmosphere more akin to home than thousands of feet in the air. The physical relief was sheer pleasure for half an hour or so, being released from the area of restricted leg room and general discomfort. Unfortunately, once ensconced in such freedom the passenger was reluctant to go back to the allotted seat, creating a need for a form of rationing. The Cocktail Lounge occupied space which on other aircraft would have been part of the Hold but this machine also accommodated a large Hold for cargo and baggage forward of the Cocktail Lounge.

In the early 50s, an agent was contacted by an important customer advising him that a senior sales representative was due to fly to New York by B.O.A.C. Stratocruiser very shortly and it would be greatly appreciated if the agent could arrange with B.O.A.C. for him to visit London Airport and look over one. This was not an unusual request and it helped the airline by arranging such visits for member of important companies. The visit was organised and arrangements made for the Rep to be taken to lunch a few days hence, just prior to the visit to the Stratocruiser.

The agent was awaiting an urgent consignment from Belgium, of parts for a Printing machine; he received a telephone call from the agent in Brussels to tell him that due to fog no flights could currently operate so the consignment was being sent by an overnight steamer, (known affectionately as a ‘Puddle Jumper’) (This was not a good advertisement for the air cargo industry). He took down the name of the ship, scheduled arrival time in London and at which dock. The Belgian Agent confirmed that the Steamship Company had been requested to clear the package on behalf of the sender, as the contents were urgent and being replaced under guarantee.

Next morning instead of his usual journey to London Airport he headed east on the London Underground to the nearest station for access to the dock. From the station ticket collector he sought information as to the best route to the dock; this incurred a good fifteen minute walk. Upon arrival, his first call was at the Shipping Company Office. So far no difficulty apart from being on strange territory, he felt things had been relatively easy. After a short wait he was advised that the package had arrived and should available in about an hour, he was handed a stamped Release Note and given the directions the shed.

Upon entering the Cargo Shed a little more than an hour later to collect the package, he enquired where the package might be located; but receiving no verbal reply, just a finger pointing to a door, he felt a definite atmosphere of indifference. Once having passed through the door, he managed to get a response from the only occupant and presented the Release Note. After a short wait the package was presented to him together with a receipt to be signed. As he started to walk to the door of the shed, he became aware of several individuals also heading in the same direction; before he could reach the door there was a complete human barrage preventing any further progress.

This being a totally new experience he began to wonder what would happen next, he was soon asked by one of the crowd, if he was intending to take the package without making a payment of five pounds, for the hard work that he and his brothers had undertaken to make it available. He had no choice in the matter; he had not dreamt that anything like this would occur; by good luck he had brought a fiver in case he might have to take a taxi to and from the dock. The fiver was snatched as soon as it was taken from his pocket and the mass of semi human specimens disappeared as one; while he was left to open the door of the shed to make his exit. He was sure that he would not have been believed had he mentioned that all charges were being paid by the sender in Belgium. As the agent walked to the Underground Station to continue his mission and deliver the package he was quite shaken by his experience and thought how lucky he was to work at a civilised place like London Airport.

The visit by the Sales Rep took place a couple of days later, starting after lunch with the agent at a maintenance hangar. Upon arriving at the rendezvous they were met by a B.O.A.C. representative and escorted into the hangar where they were joined by a Maintenance Supervisor, they climbed the steps to the platform adjacent to the aircraft door. Entering the aircraft they were given a very interesting tour of the Flight Deck, the Galley, the passenger cabin and the Sales Representative received detailed answers to his many questions. After bidding cheerio to the Maintenance Supervisor, the B.O.A.C. escort, showed them, with considerable pride the unique small cocktail lounge.

This is where it went wrong; descending the narrow semi-spiral stairway they entered the lounge, behind the small bar stood a man in a white overall with a paint-brush in his hand. In an effort to be friendly the agent stepped to the bar and said “three Gin and Tonics please”. The man in the white overall made no sound but moved immediately up the staircase and left the aircraft. After a short question and answer session, The escort, the agent and his guest left the cocktail lounge, made their way to the door, onto the platform and down the steps and walked toward the hangar exit. The agent was not ready for what happened next; a number of men seemed to be hurrying toward the door just like those at the docks a few days earlier.

As the three reached the door, their progress was halted by the group and a spokesman, said “That man; has insulted one our brothers, and you will not leave this hangar until he apologises. The agent could not believe he was the subject of union aggression again but for the sake of his two companions, said “I apologise for mistaking one of your brothers for a Bar Steward”. There was total silence, the apology had been made and the spokesman was then obliged to clear the path to the exit; neither he nor many of his ‘brothers’ appeared happy with their victory.

INTERESTING JOBS.

An Agent working in the City of London for a company which also had a Travel department was obliged to visit London Airport at all manner of odd times for numerous reasons. A Representative of a large organization had been booked by the Travel Section of the company on an extended visit to South America. He left London Airport in February 1954 to visit Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, returning via New York. During a change of aircraft in Miami on the last week of his trip a suitcase was mishandled and failed to arrive in New York. His office contacted the Travel Section of the Company who in turn, promptly decided it was a matter best handle by the Air Cargo Department. “After all they were always going to London Airport and knew more useful people.” So the Air Cargo Department telephoned the B.O.A.C. lost property office to check if a suitcase, the property of a Mr. Pearce had been forwarded from Miami. Air Cargo Agents are lucky sometimes, the suitcase had arrived that morning.

A telephone call to the shipping department of the company to advise them the case been located was made, adding that the appropriate Customs form would be sent for completion and return to enable the case to be cleared through Customs and sent to Mr. Pearce. Within a very short time a call was received from Mr. Pearce saying that he would visit London Airport and clear the case himself. He asked if the agent could meet him at Euston Station on Saturday and take him to the correct location at the Airport. As any good Air Cargo Agent would respond the agent said “certainly”. A further call was received a little later advising the time of his anticipated arrival at Euston.

At the appropriate time on Saturday the agent; holding a large card with name “Mr. Pearce in bold letters waited at the correct platform, having parked the car nearby, in 1954 there was no problem parking a car at Euston Station even on Cup Final Day, as this turned out to be. As hoards of people alighted from the train and rushed to grab a taxi a gentleman approached the agent with hand outstretched and identified himself as Charles Pearce. The agent was quite bewildered, he had expected to meet someone in their thirties or early forties but he was shaking hands with a man in his sixties.

The journey to the airport was uneventful and enabled the agent and his passenger to get acquainted, but delay appeared to be unavoidable upon entering the shed at London Airport, the Kick-Off of the F.A. Cup Final was about to take place. The Landing Officer was listening to the commentary on a portable radio, and beckoned Mr. Pearce and the Agent sit next to him among a dozen or so people seated in the shed. The Officer apologized that he could not check the case at once but as he came from West Bromwich he felt he should listen to the match as his team, were playing. Mr. Pearce was evidently quite happy as he was a supporter of Preston North End, the other team in the Final. The agent was not a supporter of either of the teams but was very pleased to be listening to the final rather than hanging around elsewhere on the airport. With the Landing Officer getting excited as West Brom gained the upper hand and Charlie Pearce doing the same when Preston were gaining ground, the two individuals could have been taken for friends who attended a match together every Saturday.

When the Final whistle blew, the score was West Bromwich. 3 Preston 2. Charlie shook hands with the Officer, offering congratulations. There was then a further delay while various people held a Post Mortem on the match. The Officer Said to Charles, “You’ve just had one disappointment, so where’s your case, we’d better get it done so you can get home”. The case which was quite heavy was placed on the Bench and the Officer place a bold yellow mark on the lid. There you are have a “safe journey home” then shaking hands with both his visitors, bade them goodbye and the Agent took the case and placed it in the boot.

The agent had quite an interesting drive back to Euston, learning from ‘Charlie’ that he was an engineer with the company and made the trip to South America each year to visit the company’s agents. The trip had a two fold purpose. 1st to gain knowledge of any problems customers had experienced with the product, bearing in mind it was designed originally for use in Europe and the operations in South America may require some modifications. 2nd To discuss any difficulty’s experienced with maintaining and repairing due to delays in the arrival of parts.

The agent learned that Mr. Pearce had made this trip many times before World War two; he further learned that he would sixty five in a few days and was retiring at the end of the month. The trip from which he had just returned had been a farewell to the numerous friends he had made over many years. The reason for the personal visit was explained; at each location he had visited for the last time he had been presented with a very grand retirement present which were all in the suitcase in the boot. His personal clearance was to persuade the Customs to be a bit kind hearted on the duty on these gifts, but the influence of the Cup Final had saved him ‘quite a lot’.

He was even lucky with the journey home as their arrival at Euston gave him about fifteen minutes before the train for Preston departed.

AIRCRAFT IMPROVEMENT.

Certain larger and faster aeroplanes, had entered service at the beginning of the 1950’s, such as the Hermes, a civil version of the Hastings aeroplane, in service with the R.A.F. The Argonaut, a modified DC4 built in Canada and fitted with Rolls Royce Merlin engines and the Vickers Viscount the first of the turbo-prop aeroplanes, in service with B.E.A. and several other Carriers worldwide. The industry that had developed to process and handle Air Cargo was expanding rapidly in parallel with the new aeroplanes.

The introduction of new aeroplanes continued in 1952 with the De Havilland Comet, by B.O.A.C. The Comet was the first Jet Powered airliner to enter service across the Atlantic and to other destinations on the airline’s routes. This most graceful looking aeroplane did not have huge holds for the carriage of air cargo but it was capable of carrying a substantial tonnage quite a lot faster than most other aircraft in service at that time. On certain routes it also carried nuclear isotopes used in medical research, in special tubes in the wing tips. The Comet was ill fated; two disintegrated in flight in 1954 with the loss of many lives, due, it is claimed to a weakness in the window fixings.

In each accident, so it is understood some of these had broken causing instant decompression of the aircraft, resulting in the death of the crew and passengers. The remainder of the fleet was withdrawn from service. A modified improved aeroplane as Comet mark III joined B.O.A.C. in 1956 this was followed by Comet Mark IV, a year or so later. During the years that followed much later The Comet was re-developed into a military reconnaissance machine known as the Nimrod and was still in squadron service with the R.A.F. in the beginning of the 21st century. Regrettably, due to reductions in the funding in the Ministry of Defence the maintenance of the fleet was reduced. This is assumed to have resulted in a crash which cost the lives of fourteen British Servicemen in Afghanistan and the withdrawal from service with the R.A.F. in 2010.

AIR CARGO AND THE LARGER AIRCRAFT.

From 1954 a great deal of progress was made by the airlines, many other new aeroplanes were brought into service, the Boeing 707 being the largest and having the greatest impact. The Boeing 707 was joined by the Lockheed Super Constellation and the DC6, all three giving the benefits of longer range and greater speed which reduced the transit times. The larger holds and better access altered the problems of loading at a cost; this meant that larger consignments could move by air. The greater range made it possible to carry loads to far destinations without intermediate stops to re-fuel. This did have a slight disadvantage in that any consignments for the intermediate stops had a far less frequent service but money was saved by the operators as a result of fewer landings.

With the arrival of the larger aircraft, loading the cargo became a more onerous task. The holds were taller and could accommodate a greater amount of cargo; that had to be man-handled into the stowage location and secured. The additional number of items and the greater weight of many of them caused the time taken to place and secure the consignments to greatly increase. A little help was produced by preloading many of the smaller shipments onto large pallets and securing them on the pallet with ‘Shrink-Wrap’. Agents involved with Consolidations were encouraged to place the packages of consolidations on pallets and ‘shrink-wrap’ them, this frequently amounted to more than one pallet to accommodate a complete consolidation. The use of pallets was very soon joined by the use of aluminium containers, the initial version being rather an odd shape about 5 feet tall by two feet square with a shaped shoulder to allow it stand erect against the curvature of the upper part of the fuselage wall. It was closed at the front with a canvas flap fixed at the top and secured by turn buttons through metal lined holes around the edge of the flap.

The next stage was the introduction of large containers known as ‘igloos’. These were and probable still are, an elongated semi-circle in the vertical dimension, about four feet deep from the access aperture at the front to the complete aluminium rear panel. The loading aperture on these large containers comprised of one or two hinged doors which could be fastened. If required they could also be sealed.

These large containers were easier to load but required a means of moving them when they were fully stowed. The answer was ‘Roller Beds’; these containers, when loaded in the Airlines’ sheds were stowed after loading on racks fitted with rollers adjacent to the loading area awaiting collection by a flat-bed truck fitted with a roller-bed. Some of these trucks were fitted with Scissor-lift equipment enabling a container to be lifted directly to the aircraft hold. From entering the hold the container would be moved to its allotted position on the roller within the aircraft hold. Agents moving Consolidations in such containers were obliged to equip their warehouses with expensive facilities such as a scissor-lift fitted with rollers. A means of delivery to the Airline, at least one ten ton truck fitted with a roller-bed.

The containerisation of Air Cargo greatly increased the speed at which Cargo could be handled and at the same time it increased the operating costs to the Agents and the Airlines considerably. Roller-beds did not come cheap. Particularly those on scissor-lifts, further a duplicate set of such equipment was necessary at destination to unload the Cargo. Many containerised Consolidations were removed from the container in the Airline ‘shed’ with the ‘BBA’s authority to facilitate transfer of items to another Agent within Bonded premises.

FURTHER NEW SERVICES AND AIRCRAFT.

On the 9th May 1955 B.O.A.C. introduced a Tourist Class weekly service from London to Sydney by Constellation Aircraft and on the 30th December 1955 took delivery of the first two Bristol Britannia Aircraft.

On the 15th October 1956 B.O.A.C. took delivery of the first of their Douglas D.C.7. aircraft at a ceremony at Santa Monica, California and on the 8th November, signed a contract for 15 Boeing 707 aircraft powered by Rolls Royce Engines.

6h January 1957 saw the introduction of the DC7-C service from London Airport to San Francisco via New York and on the 1st February 1957 the service London Airport to Johannesburg, with the Britannia. The Britannia service to Sydney commenced on the 2nd of March. On the 29th June the first ever non-stop flight from London Airport to Vancouver, a distance of 5,100 miles was made by a Britannia. September 1957 saw the introduction of services with Bristol Britannia’s by several other long haul carriers. The Britannia was a very quiet aeroplane being powered by four Turbo-Jet Engines, it was also very comfortable for the 90 passengers; and offered ample capacity for baggage, Mail and Cargo. On the 19th December 1957 the London Airport to New York Service by Britannia was inaugurated by B.O.A.C.

After the considerable expansion of services and the introduction of new Aircraft during 1957 there were few in the first nine months of 1958. On the 4th October a daily Comet 4 service to New York commenced. The 6th October 1958, saw all Lockheed Constellation aircraft withdrawn from service by B.O.A.C. On the 19th of December 1958 a daily service to Montreal by De Havilland Comet 4 was inaugurated.

On 21st January 1959 B.O.A.C. operated a proving flight London to Tokyo by De Havilland Comet 4.

31st March 1959 a B.O.A.C. Britannia left London Airport for Tokyo via New York and Los Angeles inaugurating a westbound ‘Round the World’ service.

The 30th/31st May 1959 saw the very last service by a B.O.A.C. Boeing Stratocruiser, the route being London Barcelona-Kano-Accra and return via Kano and Barcelona.

In July 1959 an All Cargo service was introduced; from London to Hong Kong and return. The 20th of
August 1959 saw the commencement, of the second westbound ‘Round-the-World service London
Airport-San Francisco, Hong Kong.

The inauguration of the Comet 4 service London-Sydney took place on the 1st November 1959. This
was followed, by a Comet 4 Service London-Johannesburg, which commenced on the 2nd December
1959.

TSR2

In 1952 the Ministry of Supply issued a specification for a new aircraft to replace the Canberra, eight aircraft manufacturers submitted proposals; in due course the contract was awarded to English Electric to produce an aircraft suitable for Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance with a speed of Mac2. In the early sixties English Electric, Bristol Aircraft Co. Ltd., Vickers Armstrong plus several other Companies were merged to form The British Aircraft Corporation. This complicated the situation for English Electric and caused delay and numerous changes to the specification. By the start of 1960 development costs were increasing, possible due in part to the merger and certainly due to the changes to the specification. The Bristol Siddeley Olympus 20R engines which were to power the TSR2 had also suffered delays with the inevitable extra expense. 9 TSR2 Development aircraft were ordered in October 1960. A great many of the components for this aircraft passed through a cargo shed at London Airport on their way to Filton. Other components arrived by air at Lulsgate Airport Bristol.(Continued on Page 25)

On the 25th January 1960 the Comet 4 was introduced on a service to South America after a lapse of eight years, during which time, no British Airline had operated a service following tragic losses in 1952; the new service was routed London Airport-Brazil-Uruguay-Argentina and Chile.

1st April 1960 a tripartite partnership between B.O.A.C., Air India and Qantas was formed.

On the 8th April 1960 all B.O.A.C. Argonauts were withdrawn from service.

27th May 1960 the Boeing 707 was introduced by B.O.A.C. on the Daily London Airport- New York Route.

23rd June 1960 the initial Boeing 707 service to Canada took place. On the same day B.O.A.C. signed a £25 million contract with Vickers for Super VC10 Aircraft.

16th October 1960 saw the last scheduled flight by Comet 4 between London Airport and New York...

3rd December 1960 an All Cargo service was introduced using DC7 aircraft to New York...

31st January 1961 B.O.A.C. introduced a service by Boeing 707 London-Zurich-Tel Aviv-Teheran

2nd March 1961 saw the introduction by B.O.A.C. of a Boeing 707 service via North Polar route from London to Los Angeles, and on the 1st June introduced a 707service from London Airport to Washington DC. October 31st saw the introduction of a Comet 4 service from London to Manila

The 6th January 1962 saw the introduction of a Britannia service from London to Mauritius, and the 28th February saw the inaugural flight of the Comet 4 service London to Cairo.

On the 20th June 1962 B.O.A.C. and the Cunard Steamship Company formed B.O.A.C-Cunard Ltd. to operate scheduled air services, from the U.K. to the U.S.A., Caribbean and Northern South America. In October 1962 B.O.A.C. Boeing 707 aircraft were introduced on the West African services and also joined the London-Australia routes.

April 1963 the Comet 4 began a twice weekly service from London to Auckland. In October 1963 the Air Cargo services from London to Canada and the U.S.A., replaced the DC7Cs with Canadair CL44 Aircraft. The polar route service from London Airport to Los Angeles was terminated at this time.

In February 1964 The Britannia aircraft were withdrawn from the North Atlantic routes.
From April 29th 1964 the B.O.A.C. service from London Airport to Lagos was operated by Standard VC10 aircraft and on the 1st. October 1964 B.O.A.C. terminated their services to the east coast of South America, in November B.O.A.C. withdrew its London-Washington service.

TSR2 (continued from page 24)

The work pressed ahead until the first machine was airworthy and ready for test. It made its first flight on the 27th. September 1964. From the top aeronautical fraternity it was considered an almost certain world beater. Eighteen days later, without any prior notice the new Government, which had only been elected, on the 15th October 1964 with an overall majority in The House of Commons of only 4 members, cancelled the TSR2 project. This occurred in spite of the fact that millions of pounds had already been spent getting the development this far advanced. It was cancelled without reference to any senior members of the Air Staff. This untimely action was ordered by The Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten who was understood to have had little time for the Royal Air Force, and Sir Solly Zuckermann; the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government. The scientific background of Lord Zuckermann was not related to aviation but too Zoology.

This announcement was followed almost immediately by a very bizarre event; a fleet of trucks arrived at the factory at Filton on a Friday afternoon. The personnel who had arrived on the trucks, upon the orders of the Ministry of Supply, removed all the parts awaiting assembly, all the machines, jigs and dies. Materials that were in, stock to be used to form various sections of aircraft yet to be started, these were loaded into the trucks and removed from the factory. The complete and almost complete aircraft were taken away to be destroyed and all the multitude of blue prints, reports and test results were removed and never seen again by the Directors of B.A.C.

Somebody with a great deal more sense than the perpetrators of this stupid and suspicious act of vandalism ensured that the engines were not also destroyed. These fine Bristol Siddeley engines, that were subsequently, manufactured in the name of Rolls Royce, following further mergers, were used to power The Avro Vulcan Bombers and, from London Airport’s viewpoint the greatest aeroplane to ever take to the sky, namely Concorde.

AIRPORT CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT.

In 1965 Mr Roy Jenkins the Minister of Labour, introduced the Airports Authority Bill to permit Airports to make profits while still remaining responsible to Parliament. The British Airports Authority was established to operate the major British Airports on behalf of the Government. The establishment of B.A.A. enabled London Airport to create facilities such as Shopping Malls in various Terminals and start negotiations for the extension of London Underground to provide a service direct to some of the Terminals.

In 1987 the BAA was floated on the London Stock Exchange, as the BAA became a Plc it was free to make changes, one of the early alterations was the name. London Airport was renamed London Heathrow Airport after the Hamlet of Heath Row that had been annihilated in 1946 when the airport expansion began. In June 2006 the Board of Directors recommended to Shareholders that they accept an offer from the Spanish Construction conglomerate Ferovia. As with so many things in this country a small number of people can sell off the family silver for their own benefit while causing possible financial ruination to the country.

SERVICES CONTINUE TO INCREASE.

1st. April 1965 B.O.A.C. inaugurated a service by Super VC10 from London Airport to New York and San Francisco. In November the Comet 4 was withdrawn from service and the B.O.A.C. Cargo Terminal at John F. Kennedy New York was opened. In December a Boeing 707 Service to Georgetown, Guyana commenced.

In January 1966 an all Cargo service by Boeing 707-336C linking London Airport, Manchester and Glasgow with the U.S.A. and Canada was introduced. February saw the inauguration of a service from London to Chicago via Montreal by VC10 aircraft and in April a service was inaugurated from London to Mexico via Bermuda and Kingston Jamaica.

On the 11th December 1967 the Concorde prototype 001was ‘rolled out’ at Toulouse France.

In May 1968 a B.O.A.C. service commenced from London Airport to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

October 1968 B.O.A.C. introduced a Cargo service from London Airport to Australia and a direct passenger service to Antigua and Barbados.

2nd March 1969 observed the first flight of Concorde 001 at Toulouse France, and Concorde 002 made its maiden flight from Filton Bristol on 9th April 1969

Whilst these numerous new aircraft and new services were being introduced by B.O.A.C. a similar amount of development and extension was occurring with most of the other Airlines throughout the World. At this time 250 Airlines worldwide had been registered as I.A.T.A. members.

Gatwick Airport had existed since the 1914/18 war; In1931 the owner Mr Ronald Water created
Water’s Aero Club and the airport became operational for fare paying passengers in the late thirties.
In1968 following a period of development, which had been initiated by Norman Payne the Director of
Planning, adding a new Office complex and a new Passenger terminal, it became the second London
Airport. As this was confusing the first became London Heathrow Airport and the other London
Gatwick Airport. This was followed by the naming of London Stansted Airport, all being owned and
operated by British Airports Authority. London Luton Airport and London City Airport extended the
naming system but were under different ownership.

WHEN ACCOMMODATION BECAME AVAILABLE.

The gradual acquisition of office and warehouse space brought about another major change. Some of the well established Ocean Forwarders and Continental Carriers had branches in towns not served internationally by local airports. There was cargo for clients of these companies that was required to move by air. This prompted some hitherto surface only forwarders, to enter the world of air cargo and open a facility on or near Heathrow Airport to handle this traffic, which could, otherwise easily be poached by an existing Air Cargo Agent with a local collection service. Most ocean and continental traffic had normally depended upon the shipper getting the goods to the docks or rail depot so the provincial branches of most of those agents had no established collection service. With an office on Heathrow there was justification in offering a collection for the air cargo, which also eased the shipper’s problems with some of the surface traffic.

The increase in the number of agents on London Heathrow Airport resulting from the availability of accommodation, created its own problem that the lack of space had previously avoided. The problem of staff shortage, the increase meant that good staff had a wider choice. From the management point of view, this aggravated a situation which had begun awhile earlier, namely the necessity of operating late shifts and in some cases night shifts; Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday working had been the norm for a very long time.

FREE FLIGHTS

There were perks in the air cargo industry, when an airline planned to operate a new service, or use a new type of aeroplane, travel agents were always used as guinea pigs before the public at large were likely to use the services. The airlines were so kind; they treated the air cargo agent as the same type of creature. These trips went where the new route or aircraft was scheduled to be introduced. The short distance ones were usually described as training sessions, no doubt the most enjoyable training any group ever experienced in any industry. Trips did make sense as well as being an enjoyable few days: Working at Heathrow it was so easy to imagine that airports throughout the world worked on a similar principal, with appropriate lifting gear, covered storage, efficient telephone systems and transport for collection and delivery.

It was only when the reality was seen during a visit that shortcomings could be identified and would be worth mentioning to a shipper. If for example it was possible to pack an order into two or three small packing cases rather than a very large heavy one; this would cost more in packing and a slight increase to the gross weight. It would however eliminate the possibility of damage to any consignment that was far too heavy for manual handling at destination. This could not help if the item was one large single piece. Having seen hundreds of packages spread on the ground, adjacent to a hangar, with a tropical storm in full flood, suggested that a recommendation to a shipper that future consignments to that destination in a particular season could benefit from some waterproof packaging.

OIL IN THE NORTH SEA.

In the period late 1965 to 1967 several Oil Exploration Companies from the U.S.A. arrived to start drilling in the North Sea. After just a few months, when their bases were established in Norfolk, consignments arrived at Heathrow for several of those companies every day, sometimes a dozen a day by different airlines, for different companies. As the drilling became established many supply companies and safety units arrived and set up their depots in and around Great Yarmouth. The new arrivals increased the daily flow of consignments to East Anglia but combining deliveries was only possible on a few occasions.

A large percentage of those shipments were required on the east coast with such urgency that five or six vehicles could be engaged on delivering one consignment each and possibly less than an hour apart. The reason for this being, that the Drilling rigs were worked to very tight time schedules. Very serious penalty clauses existed in the contracts relating to operating delays. A short stoppage could cost thousands of dollars per hour for any down time. There were so many parts of the rigs and associated vessels and equipment that could cause down time. An hours delay getting the goods to Great Yarmouth by not engaging an additional special delivery costing about £20, could incur a penalty on the Drilling Operator of thousands of dollars. (£20 bought a lot more in the way of transport in the nineteen 60s than it does in 2010).

CO-OPERATION ON HAULAGE.

The large established haulage companies with vans of varying size operating daily schedules became involved and used by shippers to deliver to agents’ depots at Heathrow, rather in the manner that ocean shipments had earlier been delivered to the docks. Some of these vehicles arrived at the airport late in the evening, some in the small hours. This was one of the factors that brought about the need for agents’ staff to work late and /or night shifts. The agent’s cost of operating steadily increased as the industry grew. Once again the co-operation between agents came to the fore with an agent’s vehicle collecting cargo on behalf of one or two competitors in the various areas.

This co-operation required very careful control as the documentation for the prime agent’s cargo was completed at the originating office; these could be delivered to the airline without further work. Those collected on behalf of other agents could also be delivered, if documentation had been completed prior to pick up. Shipments without completed documentation had to be collected by the agents’ concerned in the shipping, this was normally the following morning. Here control had to be foolproof as there would be no staff on duty when the packages were collected, who had been present when they had arrived. Any query arising could delay the despatch of the goods. However, if the agent operated a night-shift, the packages would be handed over within a very short time for final processing.

As has already been mentioned, agents handled both export and import for many customers and for those in the provinces the returning vehicle took their imports back for local delivery. All this co-operation helped to give an efficient service to customers far away

+from the Heathrow hinterland, to the benefit of the industry. This side of the movements also needed careful control and recording, it did not produce great profit at the start but it did encourage a number of companies ‘in the sticks’ to use air cargo, thus encouraging further expansion and eventually, reasonable profit. With the knowledge and experience gained from the traumas of the early days at London Airport, many agents who had city offices in Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and several other locations were able to decide whether to open air cargo units at the local airports.

From then on the stage was set for the remarkable growth of air cargo and the confirmation that the ocean and the rail services had a serious competitor is this new industry. There had indeed been many years of trial and tribulation to cope with, some of which were the result of the financial state of the country, or maybe the poor handling of the economy which had created problems. In particular was the Government’s introduction of ‘Temporary Charge on Imports’. This was a system by which the Treasury imposed a percentage charge upon the importer, which would be refunded after a given period of time. This was in addition to any duty and or Purchase Tax that was paid at the time of arrival.

In practice the repayments were made but in most cases considerably later than promised. With the state of the British economy at that time many importers could just not cope with this extra burden. Fortunately some importers had compassionate suppliers, who, in their own interest requested agents to debit the T.C.I. back to them to enable the importer to continue buying their product. This did work but some overseas exporters had to wait rather longer than expected before putting their money back in the bank.

SUCCESS CREATES PROBLEMS—HELP REQUIRED

Toward the end of the 1960s, the throughput of Import Entries had reached such a volume that the delays in clearing goods through Customs were causing considerable blockages in the many Airline cargo sheds. This caused other problems as the airlines imposed storage charges on consignments still in their sheds causing annoyance to and objections from importers. It was obvious to H.M. Customs, many airlines and the agents that something had to be done. The initiative came from The Collector of Customs Mr. James Blunt and the Head of Air France in the UK, Mr. Etienne Drayfous, with the suggestion that the clearing of imports via a Computer Controlled System should be investigated.

A great deal of the preliminary exploratory work started in early 1967 between Customs, delegates from several airlines and the Government nominated contractor, N.D.P.S. a branch of the G.P.O.(General Post Office) known as The National Data Processing Service. At that time the General Post Office was the provider of telephone services in the U.K. in addition to a very efficient postal service. They were also actively engaged in the development of computers for commercial applications, their growing knowledge and experience with the early computers made them the ideal party to lead the technical side of this very ambitious undertaking. The result of a feasibility study gave a strong indication that computers could be a practical solution to the problem of delays and the ‘go-ahead’ to proceed with the design of a system, was given by the Government.

Months were spent designing the proposed system with numerous alterations as various requirements were identified and many additions to the original concept were introduced. The ‘final’ design of the system, on paper, was then studied by the technical experts of various groups of potential users and given a tentative O.K. A prompt decision was required as to which computer would be most suitable for the project, this was decided partially by a directive from the Government that the supplier must be a British Company. The chosen supplier was I.C.L., (International Computers Limited) from whom two identical computers were ordered. By modern capabilities it seems odd that such protection was considered necessary, it must be remembered that the project was an expensive step into the unknown and any possible hazard had to be contemplated and guarded against.

The site upon which the building to house the computers was to be erected had been allocated on Government land in Harmondsworth, close to the airport. Because of the number of Radar scanners situated on London Airport there was a fear that the beams might interfere with the computer operation. To avoid any possibility of this having a detrimental effect on the system, the room to house the computers was degoused, (completely screened with copper mesh). The absolute integrity of the data was vital and the serious problems that would result if it were distorted or adulterated, necessitated absolute protection of the computers. A backup of the data was essential, in addition to the degousing, it was agreed that the two computers were needed for protection against down time. Each computer was installed several feet above the floor of the building as a protection against possible damage by water.

Before any contracts were drafted the agents were brought into the discussion, they were the Sector which prepared the largest proportion of the Import Entries on the Airport but had few computer experts of the caliber required, who could be spared at that time to work upon the design. The airlines completed numerous Entries for import consignments of their own, in addition to those for clients who did not use agents. The Airlines acceptance that the proposed system satisfied their requirements enabled the agents’ representatives to accept that it would meet their requirements. They also ensured that the system would be compatible with the computer systems used by airlines for inventory control.

The arrival of consignments for clearance by an agent had to be advised to the agent via the system; this involved each airline having a record of which agent cleared consignments for named importers.
An important variation came into play in this respect and additional processing was required to enable the airline to identify which of the many agents on the airport, was nominated by the importer to have access to those consignments. Further, a notice of arrival had to be created on the VDU (Visual Display Unit) of the appointed agent. With confirmation that these would be included in the system there appeared to be no problem, so the agents’ could and would participate. Following the responses from all groups, which included still further requests for modifications, additions and adjustments to the design, participation was accepted by all groups. A follow up meeting a few weeks later studied the new ‘final’ presentation that appeared to satisfy the needs of all the groups. N.D.P.S. proposed and explained further ‘fine tuning’ as the system progressed.

Having agreed to the system, it was necessary to give it a suitable name, this came forth from Customs, who were, after all, financing the project. The system was to be known as L.A.C.E.S. the initials of the LONDON AIRPORT CUSTOMS ENTRY SYSTEM.

The building was completed in very good time including all the ‘unusual’ requirements, the two computers were built, delivered and installed in a very acceptable time-span so that live testing of the system was started during 1970. This intense testing was not only checking the accurate working of the Entry preparation and Passing criteria, it also involved the interfacing with the various other computer systems that were already in use by several airlines operating into London Airport. These Airline systems held the full information of all the consignments landed from their flights, this information (data) was pertinent to the clearance formalities required by H.M. Customs. By interfacing with the airline systems, this data was passed to L.A.C.E.S. quickly, accurately and without human effort showing considerable savings in time. When a consignment had been ‘cleared’ of Customs, L.A.C.E.S., automatically transferred release authority to the appropriate airline import shed and the designated agent, once more saving time.
The system selected a random percentage of consignments for physical examination; this meant that there would be a delay on the final release of such consignments, until a Customs Officer was available to make the examination. The agent and the airline import clearance department would be advised of this action on the V.D.U. on which the Entry data had been input and also on the airline inventory. The fully manual clearance procedures that were in use before L.A.C.E.S. had required all the necessary paperwork to be in the hands of Customs before any release or examination decision could be made.

There was no doubt about the time saving benefit that L.A.C.E.S. would provide, there was however the question of cost. During the development stage the question of cost was in the forefront of the agent’s concern, although Customs were asked on numerous occasions this information was not forthcoming until the summer of 1971 when the first airline, was due to be connected to the system, this took place at the end of August. As the entire cost of L.A.C.E.S. had been borne by the Treasury in the name of H.M. Customs it was their job to ascertain the realistic price per year to each user, to recoup the start-up cost and the annual running cost. All agents were shocked when the price was announced, at a little over £6000.for each VDU per year. This cost was far beyond that which many of the agents could afford.

There was however a solution to this problem which related to the spirit of co-operation that prevailed since the very early days. The System had been designed so that the agent user of each terminal was identified by a key (known as a Badge). Until the Badge was inserted into the VDU it was inactive. Once activated, the VDU could be interrogated by the agent to whom the badge had been issued by H.M. Customs, to ascertain if any consignments had arrived for his customers. The airline shed in which the consignments were held and the appropriate Airwaybill numbers were included in the information on the screen. This was further time saving created by L.A.C.E.S., the information was provided automatically by the system, relieving the agent of the time wasting process of visiting or telephoning every Airline to see what, if anything had arrived needing action by him

The agent renting the terminal paid the annual fee for the terminal and was issued with more than one ‘Badge’. Several agents renting terminals offered other agents, the use of that terminal for clearance of their traffic, in return for the payment of a fee for each clearance, or a fixed price monthly or annual usage fee. This gave the ‘guest agent’ use of the facility at a minimal cost and the ‘host’ offset some of his committed outlay by the receipt of payments for the usage by other agents. The Badge, which was provided by Customs, was programmed on their behalf by N.D.P.S. to work with a specific terminal for a specific agent. This also had a time saving benefit, as the guest agent only had to visit the ‘Host’ instead of visiting or telephoning each Airline.

Regrettably they were occasions when terminals went on the blink which caused problems; this was resolved by the facility to have emergency badges. The emergency badges gave the ‘guest agent’ access to another pre-nominated ‘host’ terminal for the duration of the down time of the failed terminal. In the early stages these badges were returned to Customs after each emergency but as use of the system became routine the trust culture made it possible for the badges to be held by the ‘guest agent’ and used when required. Likewise ‘host’ agents obtained emergency badges for use with another host on a back to back agreement. The system worked well.

The speed with which the entry for each individual consignment could be input and processed enabled the agent ‘renting’ the terminal to handle a great many Entries in an hour, far more than many agents on Heathrow had available for processing in that time. This made the sharing of terminals an economic solution; the badge used by the ‘Guest’ agent was held by his clerk and inserted into the terminal to ascertain what arrivals were on hand awaiting clearance in the various airline sheds. The system was designed to enable the airline holding any consignment for a ‘guest agent’ to pass the arrival details to the host terminal but not be accessible by the host agent.
There was one major snag with accommodation; the V.D.U. could only work if it was housed in premises on the airport, this required additional premises for agents who were based off-airport. This was overcome in part by renting a small office on Heathrow solely for inputting Entries. This did cause some extra cost as the rents were not cheap and an extra telephone was required for frequent communication with the Import Department at the main premises.

Fortunately a new Cargo Terminal had been built on the west side of the airport during the development phase of L.A.C.E.S., this solved a great many problems by providing both warehouse and office accommodation for agents in addition to large, medium and small units for the various airlines. The agents units catered for the variation in their requirements, Building 520 comprised, ground level which housed the Long Room and ancillary offices of H.M. Customs. The 1st.and 2nd.floors offered single and double unit offices to suit the needs of the agents having only the L.A.C.E.S. V.D.U. on the airport and also the agents with the complete Import department on the airport. The two upper floors had the offices on both sides of the building with a central corridor the whole length of the building with toilets and a staircase at each end.

Building 521 was constructed to a similar plan but many times the size, it stood opposite 520, once again the design met the varying needs. The ground floor comprised many warehouse units with an office at the rear with a door from the office to a central corridor that extended the full length of the building. The corridor was divided into four sections lengthwise, with a staircase up to the first floor within each section, the first floor had offices on each side of the corridor aligning with the offices on the ground floor and forming the second half of a ‘unit’. Agents could rent one, two or more units depending on their needs thereby giving considerable flexibility to suit the needs of both large and small agents.

As with all matters there had to be snags, there were two main problems, with the offices in the centre of the building artificial light was always required, the second problem was that the site had been planned when ten ton trucks were the largest routine visitors, by the time the buildings were completed in 1971 forty foot articulated trucks had become very popular. The space in front of the warehouses was fine for numerous rigid ten tonners but half a dozen forty foot artics, could cause absolute mayhem. The airlines’ sheds were built to be as user friendly as possible with the warehouse floors at tailboard level to make loading and unloading as easy as possible but the forty-footers had problems reversing into the loading bays due to the lack of width of the access road in which to ‘swing’ the trailer.

The number of staff employed by the agent’s sector in 1960s had increased and changed, there was no longer a couple of dozen agents each with six or seven staff, many of whom arrived at work by public transport, the new reality could have embraced more than three hundred agents. With staff levels of 10, 20, 30 or many more, who came to work by car. There was virtually nowhere to park all the cars, vans and trucks that arrived at the offices and warehouses. The airport owners B.A.A., built a car park about fifty yards from the southern end of the building 520 which eased the situation. This was fine for the occupants of 520 and the southern end of the building 521 but the unfortunates in the north end had one heck of a walk at least twice a day but frequently, many times each day depending on work commitments.

L.A.C.E.S. went live in stages over a period of two weeks the first airline to be connected was K.L.M. in the last week of August 1971. The system had an estimated life of ten years, anticipating that technical advances would be made, that would enable a more all embracing system to be built by 1981. Britain joined the Common Market in 1971 and with this membership certain changes took place quite quickly. Value Added Tax was introduced, replacing Purchase Tax, trade increased with the other European countries. As a member of the Common Market any merchandise manufactured in a member Country was admitted without involving any Duty, subject to proof of origin; V.A.T. however had to be paid before release.

In May 1972 The Edwards Committee recommended to the Government that British Overseas Airways and British European Airways should merge, The Government accepted this recommendation and British Airways was established on the 1st September 1972. The amalgamated services under the name British Airways commenced operations on the 31st March 1974. Once more something done by the BAA to assist agents did not survive. The establishment of British Airways resulted in the car park serving buildings 520 and 521 being closed. The ground became part of the area, upon which a large building was erected for a British Airways ‘In Flight Catering Unit’. The car park was replaced by a larger one about 100 yards further south.

The National Air Forwarding Division (N.A.F.D.) had been involved with Agency interests in the L.A.C.E.S. System from the very beginning; when it went live, the interest turned to considerable involvement. Regular meetings of all the interest parties took place and it was sometimes difficult for a delegated member of the Management Committee to attend; they had companies to run. The N.A.F.D. membership was voluntary; on some occasions this resulted in substituting members to attend, at the last minute. The close liaison with H.M. Customs was vital and did involve very short notification for special discussions, this created awkward situations on several occasions.

In 1977 this problem was solved for the N.A.F.D. Committee; a long serving member took retirement, this enabled him to take on full time representation of the Agency Sector with H.M. Customs. This liaison was made even more effective and time efficient when H.M.C. allocated him a room in their premises. These premises were situated adjacent to the building in which the L.A.C.E.S. computers were housed and several B.T. Technical personnel were located. The many meetings became much less difficult to arrange at short notice.

British Telecom was contracted by H.M. Customs at the end of the 1970’s to investigate the building of a new system that was to be 100% for H.M. Custom’s requirements; the need for this had been created as a result of changes caused by Britain’s entry into the ‘Common Market’ known as the E.E.C. (The European Economic Community). L.A.C.E.S. had been modified to cope with these requirements. The advances in computer technology had been rapid, resulting in the 1971 system being outdated and the environment, in which it was coded, making maintenance very difficult. The proposed system, when operating was to replace all the facilities of L.A.C.E.S. which were the requirement of H.M. Customs. The system was to process Entries created on computers owned by agents and airlines, when transmitted to the proposed system, for processing. The response to the agent or airline being, i.e. “goods cleared”- “goods held for examination”.

When 1981 arrived it was without the necessary new system in place or even designed, additional programs had to be added to L.A.C.E.S. to interface with a system known as D.E.P.S. (Departmental Entry Processing System). The LACES inventory control and global tracking systems were of immense value to the airfreight community at large, but arguably that part of the system known as DEPS was of even greater value.

DEPS was designed and controlled by Customs and Excise to comply with the law and to greatly facilitate the clearance of inward cargo. It permitted an Agent to log on to DEPS which would provide him with an on-screen Entry Form which he could complete far more quickly than through the old manual systems. DEPS would then check every item of the entry input including Tariff description, foreign currency conversions, allocation of freight charges, Value Added Tax and Duty calculations. DEPS would then confirm that the agent had adequate resources in his credit account which would be automatically debited with the VAT payable on consignments from the E.E.C. or Duty and VAT payable on consignments from countries on which duty was payable.

DEPS would then allocate each shipment to a clearance route previously programmed by HM Customs.

Shipments allocated to Route One were to be held for examination of the hard copy of the Entry which the agent would lodge with Customs.

Shipments allocated to Route Two were required for physical examination; release could therefore not be given until that examination had been satisfactorily completed.
Shipments allocated to Route Three were granted immediate release subject to a one hour delay to enable an officer to intervene if he so wished.

Shipments were allocate to the three Routes roughly in the percentage of 2.5 to Route one, 17.5 to Route two and 80 percent to Route three.

The agent would receive an automatic release printout in his office as soon as release was granted to each shipment; and DEPS would automatically advise the airline holding the shipment that release was permitted.

It was necessary of course for hard copy prints of each entry form to be lodged without delay in a Customs office in order that subsequent checking could be carried out by a Customs Officer if it was considered to be necessary.

This system, unique in the world at that time and for many years following its introduction enabled most clearances to be completed in a few hours instead of three or four days. The value to the United Kingdom trading community was therefore enormous and its clinical efficiency of the whole system was recognized by many of the country's foreign trading partners who sent representatives to see how it was done. Without exception they were astonished that we told them.

The various Committees created to oversee the operation of L.A.C.E.S., continued to oversee an updated interim system known as ACP80 (Air Cargo Processing 1980’s). This system was L.A.C.E.S. plus several additional facilities but still using ‘Dumb Terminals’ (the V.D.Us). to access H.M. Customs and Airlines. The composition of the Committees varied depending on which aspects of the systems were being monitored by them.

The main committee included all parties: H.M. Customs normally ‘Chaired’ the main Committee, the members of which were from Airlines, Agents and usually British Telecom. The Technical Committee had representatives from the same organizations with meetings ‘Chaired’ by British Telecom. The Airline Steering Committee took care of airline requirements and The National Air Forwarding Division of the Institute of Freight Forwarders took care of the Agents’ interests. ACP80 worked exceedingly well but the rapid advances, in computer technology were overtaking the system. Due to these facts it was suggested that an entirely new system to work with a new independent Custom’s system to be known as CHIEF would be the best approach.

A proposal for the development of a new system by which Agents and Airline Import Departments could access D.E.P.S. and subsequently CHIEF was submitted by a subsidiary of British Airways. The Airline and Agent Committees felt obliged to study this proposition. The company had designed and installed the system for the B.O.A.C. passenger operations that was efficient. One of the statements made by the company early in their Presentations indicated that the network of the passenger system could be utilized by the Air Cargo System thereby saving costs. After considerable discussion, many additional presentations and further research, the two committees agreed to entrust the development of a new system to the company Travicom. (Travel Automation Services Ltd). When development was well advanced the system was given the title UKAS; (United Kingdom Aircargo System).

In July 1985 the representative working in the Customs premises sent a report to the Chairman of the N.A.F.D. as follows:-

Facts
1] Since 1971 the L.A.C.E.S./ACP80 agency sector, has paid about £12m for the service. The cost in the year 1985/86 will be in the region of £1.28m.

2] The whole agency sector (now some 360 companies), including its finances, is managed by the Institute’s N.A.F.D. Management Committee by reason of mandates given at public meetings during 1969/71 and 1980/81.

5] Since 1977 to date Agency matters have been attended to by a representative under the authority of the N.A.F.D Management Committee. This includes the current design activities relating to the ACP80 replacement system, UKAS.

6] The Agency Sector representative also of necessity, represents the sector on many committees and working parties whose activities effect or could effect (a) the development of ACP80, UKAS and DEPS I and II and (b) the methods by which future Governmental Agencies both here and abroad control or propose to control the movement of cargo into or out of the U.K. All of these activities are directly related to the future well-being of the U.K. air forwarding industry.

7] Since 1977 the Agency Sector Representative has been housed, by authority of the Board of Customs, in the office in Harmondsworth.

8] The Customs building in which he is accommodated is under threat of demolition. It cannot be expected that they will be to make provision for his needs indefinitely.

9] It has become clear in the last three years that the role of an agent’s technical representative is a continuing one, especially in view of the many long term developments, which are now under discussion with Customs, including some forced upon us by our EEC membership. Discussions now under way involve changes through to 1989. Someone must be able to devote himself, without other business distractions, to the protection and development of agency interests.

Submission
1]… The management of ACP80/UKAS agency sector needs to be placed on a more formal footing.

Note
1] Similar projects are proposed already in Felixstowe and Dover, and the formation of a national council of port computer systems has been mooted, albeit informally. Our representatives should participate.

The result of the above report was concentration on strengthening the clout on behalf of the agents, by the creation of a registered company to act on their behalf. This was the start of Agency Sector Management, in a period of several months, members of the N.A.F.D. worked on the formation of a non-profit Company to manage the requirements of the Air Cargo Agents in respect of future computerisation. The needs of the Industry were by this time, relevant nationwide, not just to Heathrow. Members of the N.A.F.D. produced details of what the New Company’s main areas of activity would be, and registered the name ‘Agency Sector Management’ with Companies House.

The Registration brought forth a reply advising on all the issues involved: The number of Directors, The preparation of Articles of Association and Memorandum, Non Profit Company, Limitation by Guarantee. The ‘Arts’ and ‘Mems’ required a considerable amount of time, to ensure that no avenue of activity was left out. The draft, when complete to the satisfaction of those involved, was submitted to the N.A.F.D. for their agreement prior to going to the Legal Beavers for final approval. ASM was officially formed on the 1st. November 1986, having been incorporated on the 1st. September 1986. As ASM was to be a non-profit Company, the board was to comprise of only Non-Executive Directors.

During September much of that previously undertaken by the N.A.F.D. was taken over by ASM, with some of the same individuals doing the work on a voluntary basis whilst the decision on staffing was made. From the time L.A.C.E.S. went live the N.A.F.D. had collected a fee from each user as a Contingency Fund, to pay for any problems or disasters that could not be foreseen but might occur. Fortunately very little call had been made on the fund during the time the system had been in operation. With agreement of the users, some of this money was used to finance the practical setting up of the Company.

As time passed the progress of the new system 9fell behind schedule, it was not making the progress that had been promised and the anticipated saving by utilizing the passenger network proved to be a false promise. When the system finally went live, on the 2nd November 1986 having been delayed from the proposed start date of 1st. October it provided everything that was expected of it. Unfortunately this was only for a very short time, while only a few inputs were being made. When the inputs reached the normal daily level the system was overloaded and disaster followed. The system that had appeared to work well during endless testing was unable to handle the volume of inputs. Being swamped, the system could not cope, very early on the day it came into service, it created chaos for the Airlines and Agents, as no consignments could be cleared by the system.

The resort to ‘Fallback’ was of little benefit; the return to manual clearance had not been incurred more than a few times for short periods only, during the whole of the L.A.C.E.S. era. During those years the volume of imports through Heathrow had increased beyond all expectations and ‘Fallback’ was a time consuming process that was not able to work at a speed necessary cope with such a failure. Customers were seriously inconvenienced and extremely annoyed. Considerable expense was being incurred in an endeavour to clear the backlog manually and as so little was being cleared each day the Airline Import sheds were bursting at the seems.

Fortunately when the British Telecom system ACP80 had been switch off it was merely stood down the system remained complete and was restored within a day or two and reinstated but not before the Imports via Heathrow had descended into an absolute catastrophe that had repercussions for several weeks. The resurrected ACP80 restored the clearance efficiency to the airport and continued to do so for many months during which time the system was up-dated to ACP90 and formally introduced on the 1st. July 1987. This saw access to D.E.P.S. by computers which replaced the V.D.U.s after sixteen years.

ACP 90 was itself an interim system as its primary function was to interface with D.E.P.S.; initially, CHIEF was scheduled to be introduced in 1988, having first been discussed in 1982 as a replacement for D.E.P.S. but due to a number of factors it was postponed (not least of which was the start on the development of a new system known as ASM2000 on the 1st. January 1988). A new system was essential as the technology of ACP90 and DEPS was outdated and the environment in which it was coded made it difficult to maintain.

For the development of ASM 2000 it was possible for the first time, for the Agents to have their own technician participating in the system’s design from the start. ASM were able to secure the services of a computer expert to participate in the design and development of a new system. Bill White who was engaged to head the ASM team’s involvement in this new system was the first ‘outsider’, not previously involved in Air Cargo systems, to participate in the design and development of an Agents’ import clearance system at Heathrow. His knowledge and dedication saw that the agent’s new system was as near perfect as anything cold be where computers are involved. As time progressed the N.A.F.D. relinquished active participation in the system and A.S.M. took over.
.

TROUBLE WITH ASBESTOS.

With the rapid improvements constantly taking place with computers, it became essential to ensure that A.S.M. had the most suitable equipment. It was for this very reason that additional computers, monitors and a more advanced printer were installed to cope with the requirements of the management of the Air Cargo Agent’s system at Heathrow.

It was arranged that Mr. X, our computer wizard should start the upgrade at 5 o’clock in the afternoon in order that the work could be finished that evening in readiness for an uninterrupted start the next morning. After working alone in the office for more than three hours it became necessary for him to answer the call of nature. The toilet was situated about ten yards down on the other side of the narrow corridor that separated the two rows of almost identical offices.

Unknown to him and the daily occupants of the office, The British Airports Authority had arranged for asbestos to be removed from above the ceiling of the corridor. It so happened, that the contractors to carry out the removal arrived at 5.30 that evening and spent a couple of hours attaching very thick plastic sheeting along the top of every wall. This hung down to the floor giving protection from contamination to every office. The men removing the asbestos wore white rubber boots, white overalls with attached hoods, and face masks incorporating filters and goggles.

The plastic sheets in the corridor reduced the brightness of the lights, this was obvious as he opened the door, intending to make just a quick journey to the end of the corridor and back. He had the shock of his life; the corridor appeared to be full of grey fog. He could not fathom why the corridor was foggy and the office was clear. Then came the realization, his exit was blocked by an opaque film, and the office seemed to be in a cocoon. His anxiety was greatly increased when a shadowy figure all in white without a visible face moved into position immediately opposite the door.

The ‘man from outer space’ could not make himself heard as his mask had to remain in place and the computer wizard had no idea what the hell was going on. After a great deal of sign language, he slowly and with difficulty eased his way along the corridor between the wall and the plastic. As the loo was on the other side of the corridor it was necessary for him to make his way right to the end and across to the other side still behind the plastic and finally a few yards along the other side to the toilet door. His ordeal was not over; a return journey had to be made to the office to finish the job. Around midnight when he was ready to go home, he had to make the journey yet again to reach the staircase that was adjacent to the toilet.

The computers were working perfectly when the staff arrived next morning and they had no idea of the trauma that occurred the night before. All the asbestos had been removed so had the plastic sheeting and the men from outer space; staff were duly appraised of the fact that the sorting out the computers had not been the placid evening’s work as anticipated. On the odd occasion he possibly wonders if asbestos was being removed on a particular night, or perhaps there was another explanation. The truth will never be known as the building no longer exists it has been replaced by a multi story car park, A.S.M. rapidly outgrew the accommodation in building 520 and relocated to premises in Ashford and has done sterling work there ever since.

The growth of Air Cargo continued and the fact that it was no longer obligatory to have the ACP90 terminal on Heathrow, it became economically desirable for the larger agent to abandon any idea of having the main unit on the airport; this resulted in the development of warehouse estates in Colnbrook, Heston, Poyle, Cranford, Longford, Hounslow, Staines and many other places even further from Heathrow. This unavoidable spread resulted in an increase in van and truck movement.

London Airport/Heathrow had served the public continuously from the 28th May 1946, for six weeks short of sixty-four years, without a break, apart from seasonal partial interruptions from Snow, Ice, fog and the odd disruption by Trade Unions, until Thursday the 15th April 2010. On this bright sunny day which was the warmest for the best part of five months Heathrow stopped operating. So did most of the airports in Northern Europe. It was nothing to with Ice, Snow, fog or Union trouble, or any other cause that could be resolved by the human race. Mount Eyjafjallokull, a volcano in Iceland had erupted and the wind being in its usual direction from the northwest kindly brought the ash and grit from the volcano across Europe causing many major airports to close.

Aero engines are not happy to work in high levels of grit as it tends to tear the moving parts to bits, this in turn would cause them to fail which would create a serious probability that the aeroplane would crash. This would not be a happy situation, so for safety sake all aircraft were grounded until further notice. The grounding was rescinded on the morning of the 21st. April following tests of the state of the atmosphere, by many of the airlines who were losing millions of pounds. Their results revealed that danger was less serious than had been thought as the eruption had reduced in ferocity and the wind direction had changed slightly.

Many thousand passengers were stranded abroad having been on their Easter holiday when the restrictions were introduced. It was not only human beings who were stranded by the flight ban, thousands of tons of Air Cargo accumulated in hundreds of warehouses, over the six days, much of this being fruit and vegetables at departure point abroad; and other essential items needed abroad were stuck at Heathrow.

SUMMARY OF THE PASSENGER TERMINALS

The first Terminal, known as Europa Building, and The Queens Building that opened in 1955, closed and were demolished in 2009. The Building known as Terminal 1 opened in 1969 being due for demolition in 2010. The site made available by the removal of these two Terminals is to be the location of a large terminal to be known as Heathrow East.

Terminal 3 opened with the name Oceanic Building, on the 13th November 1961 for arriving passengers only, was extended in 1970 to also handle departing passengers and was renamed Terminal 3 in 1968.

Terminal 4 opened in April 1986 on the south side of the airport originally for British Airways services but the capacity enabled other airlines to use the Terminal:
Namely, Air Malta; Continental Airlines; Kenya Airways; Delta Airlines; Northwest Airlines; Qantas; K.L.M. and Sri Lankan airlines.

Terminal 5 was the subject of discussion and bitter argument for many years; it was finally given the approval on the 21st November 2001. The building work commenced in September 2002, it was officially opened by the Queen on the 14th March 2008 with first day of operation being the 27th March 2008. It had several very troublesome months after opening for business with the baggage of thousands of passengers’ being wrongly handled.

Between November 2001 and September 2002, before the work started on terminal 5, it was necessary to remove the remains of the Hamlet of Perry Oaks and the sewage works. At that time and during several previous years numerous campaigns had been organised whenever and wherever a new motorway or major road was proposed. These campaigns usually resulted in numerous individuals taking up residence in the woods that were under threat and defying all attempts by police to remove them. In this case leaflets were distributed as a hoax, to “SAVE PERRY OAKS”. To the uninitiated this plea implied a campaign to prevent the destruction of some precious woodland. However, there were but a few small scruffy trees remaining in what had once been the Hamlet of Perry Oaks. While on the subject of trees, the acclaimed ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ was created in an orchard on a farm just outside the western extremity of what is now Heathrow.

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS AT LONDON AIRPORT HEATHROW

On the evening of the 2nd of March 1948 Heathrow experienced a tragedy. A DC3 of Sabena Airlines, Endeavouring to land in bad visibility crashed on number one runway, causing the death of nineteen passengers and crew, three passengers survived and were taken to Hillingdon Hospital. An unwelcome event like this, being the first mishap on the developing airport, caused a degree of consternation among all those on duty at London Airport.

31st. October 1950 a BEA Viking G-AHPN from Paris crashed while attempting to land in adverse weather conditions, of the 30 passengers and crew on board 28 died.

In August 1956 yet another tragedy occurred, on this occasion it was not a passenger service, An R.A.F. Vulcan returning from a very successful visit to Australia and New Zealand arrived at a time of exceedingly bad weather conditions. The subsequent general opinion was that a landing should never have been attempted. It was claimed in some circles that a high ranking Officer who on the final approach, was acting as second pilot, insisted on landing because of the success the flight had achieved and the fact that a high level reception committee were at the airport waiting to congratulate him and the crew on the success of the flight. The pilot and acting second pilot survived by ejecting, the three R.A.F. crew and a civilian technician died.

On the 6th November 1963 a Trans-Canada Airlines DC8 Registration CF-TJM crash landed in a field of cabbages, shortly after “Take-off”, fortunately there were no fatalities but several passengers suffered injuries. The wrecked aircraft was eventually brought to London Airport on caterpillar track “bogies” along a specially constructed metal track helped by personnel of the Military Engineers’ training unit. Tran Canada Airlines had become a noted international carrier and was in the process of changing the name. A few days after the mishap the Airline’s name, was changed to AIR CANADA. The aircraft was eventually restored to flying condition after several years and rejoined the airline schedules.

On 27 October 1965 BEA Vickers Vanguard G-APEE arriving from Edinburgh, crashed on number one runway. whilst endeavouring to land in poor visibility attempted to over shoot All on board died. 6 crew and 30 passengers.
On 8 April 1968 BOAC Boeing 707 G-ARWE, departing to Australia via Singapore, had an engine fire just after take-off. The engine fell from the wing into a gravel pit near Staines, before the pilot managed to perform an emergency landing with the wing on fire. The plane burnt out on the ground; five people, 4 passengers and a stewardess, died; 122 survived.
On 3 July 1968 G-AMAD an Airspeed Ambassador of BKS Air Transport dropped a wing during approach, causing it to contact the ground and swerve the aeroplane towards the Terminal Building. It hit two parked British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft, burst into flames and came to rest against the ground floor of the terminal building. Six of the eight crew and eight horses onboard died.
18th June 1972 A BEA Trident to Brussels crashed near Staines three minutes after take-off resulting in the death of all passengers and crew, a total of one hundred and eighteen people.
On the17th January 2008 a Boeing 777 of British Airways, Flight BA 038 from Beijing, landed short, due to ice causing problems with fuel flow which greatly reduced the power of the engines. All 151 passengers and crew survived, some with minor injuries.

Source: written by Harry Tapner (ex MD of Brantford International & Chairman BIFA) and Les Spicer, United Kingdom. If want to get in touch with the autors, please contact us for an email address.

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