Palestine Airways

Zionist-founded airline of British Palestine

Not to be confused with Palestinian Airlines.

Palestine Airways airplanePalestine Airways ticket, 1937

Palestine Airways (Hebrew: נתיבי אוויר ארץ ישראל, romanized: Netivéy Avír Éretz Yisraél, lit. 'Land of Israel Airways'; Arabic: شركة الطرق الجوية بفلسطين, romanized: Šarikat aṭ-Ṭuruq al-Jawwiyya bi-Filasṭīn, lit. 'Airline Company in Palestine') was an airline founded by Zionist Pinhas Rutenberg in British Palestine, in conjunction with the Histadrut and the Jewish Agency.[1][2][3] In 1937 the airline was taken over by British Government's Air Ministry, with the intention of it eventually being transferred back into private hands.[4]

Between July 1937 and August 1940, it operated under the aegis of the British corporation Imperial Airways.[5][6] Throughout these years, Palestine Airways flew thousands of passengers, its best year being 1938 with 6400 passengers.[7]

## History

[edit]

The airline was registered as a private aviation company on 18 December 1934, with assistance from Imperial Airways whose crew piloted and serviced the aircraft and handled passenger check-in.[7] Based in Haifa, on 11 August 1937 it commenced commercial flights 3 times a week to Lydda. This line operated for several months, but was discontinued when Arab hostilities worsened, and the danger to passengers travelling from Tel Aviv, the main Jewish population centre, to Lydda Airport through Arab majority territory overland, became too great[8][9][10] In 1938 Palestinian Airways moved its main base to the newly built Tel Aviv Airport (in 1940 renamed Sde Dov) and commenced operations on the Tel Aviv to Haifa route, flying twice a day in their de Havilland Rapide.[11] From September 1938, the route was extended from Haifa to Beirut.[12]

Palestine Airways ceased operations in August 1940 when its aircraft were taken over by the RAF for use in the war effort as transport and communication aircraft.[13]

## Aircraft

[edit]

Initially in July 1937 the airline flew two twin-engine, five seat, cantilever Short Scion monoplanes. In 1938 two additional aircraft were acquired: an eight-seat de Havilland Dragon Rapide and a ten-seat Short Scion Senior landplane version of the float-plane (which later in Royal Air Force service was lost in action on 22 September 1943).[14] The larger aircraft were used for the service to Larnaca and charter flights to Egypt.[15]

Advertising poster

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Dagan, Peretz (1955). Pillars of Israel Economy. I. Lipschitz. p. 306.
2. ^ Davies, Ronald Edward George (1964). A History of the World's Airlines. Oxford University Press. p. 200.
3. ^ "Jewish Airline". Israel Air Force. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
4. ^ "Palestine Airways Expects to Resume Service Shortly Throughout Middle East". July 27, 1945. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
5. ^ Edelheit, Hershel (2000). History of Zionism. Westview Press. p. 571\. ISBN 0813329817.
6. ^ "Israel : The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics". Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
7. ^ a b Diklaa Rivlin Katz (2020). "The Disappearance of "Palestine Airways" from the Historical Narrative". Israel Studies. 25 (2): 49–71\. doi:10.2979/israelstudies.25.2.03. JSTOR 10.2979/israelstudies.25.2.03. S2CID 216394093.
8. ^ Jacobs, Andrea (3 April 2009). "Book Review: The history of El Al and marketing strategy secrets". Intermountain Jewish News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
9. ^ "Gaza airport and Palestinian Airlines". Jewish American Heritage Month. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
10. ^ "History of Flight Around the World - Israel". Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
11. ^ "The Israeli Air Force". Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
12. ^ "Palestine Airways". www.timetableimages.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
13. ^ "Gaza Airport – History". www.gazaairport.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
14. ^ "Civil Aircraft Register - Palestine". www.airhistory.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
15. ^ "Chapter 1 – from Flying Camels to Flying Stars: Israel Reborn (1917-1948)". srael Airline Museum. 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2025.

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