''Service de la Navigation Aérienne de Madagascar'' (SNAM), better known as ''Régie Malagache'' or ''Régie Malgache'', was an early French flag carrier airline based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. It was merged in 1937 with '' Lignes Aeriennes Nord Africaines'' (LANA) and '' Compagnie Transafricaine d'Aviation'' (CTA) to form '' Régie Air Afrique''.

History

At the start of the 1930s, mail delivery between France and Madagascar took 25 to 40 days by steamship. Various flyers had traveled from France to Madagascar by air, and Madagascar had formed a civilian air club and an embryonic military air presence, but there was no regular airline. To establish a fast airmail service, Malagasy Governor-General

Léon Cayla Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

petitioned the French Air Ministry for a direct air link between Madagascar and France. The French approved the new airline and supplied two trimotor

SPCA 41T The SPCA 40T, also designated the SPCA VII, was a mailplane built in France in the late 1920s. Design The 40T was a high-wing monoplane of conventional layout with a thick-sectioned, cantilever wing.''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft' ...

aircraft built by '' Société Provençale de Construction Aéronautique'' (SPCA) in 1934.Guttery, Ben R. (1998). Encyclopedia of African airlines. p. 115. The two aircraft were flown to Madagascar in stages from 13 June to 13 July 1934, commanded by pilot René Lefèvre, who was named director of the airline.Pénette, Jean Pierre; Pénette Lohau, Christine (2005). ''Le livre d'or de l'aviation Malgache'', p. 16. The first airmail flight between Tananarive and Broken Hill in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

took place on 29 July 1934. The flights operated via Majunga, Ilha de Moçambique, Quilimane and Tete, where they connected with the Imperial Airways service between Cape Town and Cairo. The once-weekly flight carried of mail, and reduced mail delivery times between Madagascar and Europe to 10–15 days.

''Régie Malagache'' replaced the two SPCA aircraft in 1935 with

Bloch MB.120 The Bloch MB.120 was a French three-engine colonial transport aircraft built by Société des Avions Marcel Bloch during the 1930s. Design and development The MB.120 design was selected by the French government for transport use in French overse ...

trimotors, and with these aircraft it extended its services from Broken Hill to Elisabethville; from where flights connected with Imperial and Sabena flights to Europe. In 1935 the airline flew a total of 22 passengers, and carried of freight and of mail.Pénette 2005, pp. 20–22. The route to Elisabethville was later extended to Algiers and Marseille on 27 May 1936. On 1 November 1936, ''Régie Malagache'' began offering passenger flights in cooperation with Air France and Régie ''Air Afrique''. Domestic services operated by ''Régie Malagache'' saw the airline flying Tananarive–Majunga-Diego Suarez-Maroantsetra and return to Tananarive, and Tananarive-Morondava-Tulera-Fort Dauphin-Ihosy and return to Tananarive. During 1936, the airline carried 182 passengers, of freight and of mail. On 1 September 1937, ''Régie Malagache'' was taken over by ''Régie Air Afrique'', which operated the route from Tananarive to Broken Hill. Domestic services were continued by ''Service de l'Aéronautique Civile''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Regie Malgache Airlines disestablished in 1937 Airlines established in 1934 Defunct airlines of Madagascar Government-owned airlines Companies based in Antananarivo 1934 establishments in Madagascar

History

See also

References

External links