Airport International

(Alistair) Now here's a blast from the past.

Judging from the worn state of my copy (published 1983), I must have acquired this around the time I started flying - which is to say, when I was a wee tyke of no more than ten, flying back and forth from the UK to the Middle East as an "unaccompanied minor" on my way to and from boarding school.

So, to a certain extent - and I admit that I read it again just recently mostly for sentimental reasons - my view of this little volume is perhaps colored by memories of those days when flying was An Exciting Adventure, as opposed to modern days, in which flying is That Pain In The Ass, No, Literally, Have You Seen The Seats They're Putting In Those Things These Days, Not To Mention The Security show more Procedures?

But even that aside, it's a fascinating look at aviation of the time, covering flying from airport to aircraft, the people of aviation, flight from take-off to landing, and everything that might go wrong on the way, with a wealth of detail, all richly referenced. And a jolly good read, to boot. Of course, quite a lot has changed in the aviation industry, even just from the passenger perspective - for a start, a lot of the airlines mentioned simply no longer exist; no more Pan Am, for example - there's an awful lot that's still relevant and interesting today.

Still, I'd love to see a Further Updated Edition to compare notes with the current era.

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