Elders Colonial Airways was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

based in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, and was an associate of

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

. The airline operated from 1935 to 1940.

History

Background

In 1932

began operating a weekly flight from England to South Africa, and the flight served numerous cities throughout

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

on its route. An increase in traffic numbers saw the flight being operated twice weekly from January 1935, and it was at this time that the airline completed negotiations with the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

for the creation of a route from

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...

. It was intended for the flights to terminate in

, but because there were no airports which were suitable for operations, the flights terminated in

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

, and passengers connected to Lagos by train. Imperial Airways required an airline to operate between Kano and the

Elder Dempster Lines Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century. Founders Alexander Elder Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many ye ...

docks at

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indu ...

in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. To this end, ''Imperial Airways (Nigeria and Gold Coast) Limited'' was jointly formed between Imperial and Elder Dempster on 7 November 1935, and it was operated as Elders Colonial Airways. Imperial Airways owned a half stake in the company and supplied all aircraft and personnel. It was planned for Elders Colonial services to run so they would connect with the arrival and departure of both Elder Dempster ships and Imperial's flights, allowing for quick distribution of passengers and mail throughout the Gold Coast and Nigeria.

Operational years

On 13 October 1937 flights on the route from Lagos-

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

were commenced utilising a

de Havilland Express The de Havilland Express, also known as the de Havilland D.H.86, was a four-engined passenger aircraft manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company between 1934 and 1937. Development During 1933, talks between the governments of United ...

from Imperial Airways. It was reported that traffic on the route was held back by health issues, but Imperial Airways overcame these concerns by installing an apparatus capable of killing mosquitoes in the aircraft. A weekly service in conjunction with Imperial from

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

to Bathurst was commenced on 25 June 1938 with

Short Scion Senior The Short S.22 Scion Senior was a 1930s United Kingdom, British four-engined nine-passenger floatplane built by Short Brothers. Design and development The Scion Senior was developed as an enlarged version of the Short Scion, Scion light transpo ...

, and was operated via

Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...

, Bolama and Bissau. The Lagos-Takoradi route was started on 4 April 1939, whilst on 15 July 1939 the Freetown-Bathurst service was terminated. Following the August 1939 sinking of one of the airline's Short Scion Senior aircraft whilst at anchor in Bathurst, all services to Bathurst were halted. With the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Elders Colonial Airways ceased operations on 14 June 1940, and after the war services did not resume: rather flights were replaced by the

West African Airways Corporation West African Airways Corporation, or WAAC for short, was an airline that operated from 1946 to 1958, jointly owned by the governments of Britain's four west African colonies, namely The Gambia, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Nigeria, and Sierra Leon ...

References

{{Airlines of Nigeria Defunct airlines of Nigeria Airlines established in 1935 Airlines disestablished in 1940 Colonial Nigeria 1935 establishments in Nigeria History of Lagos 20th century in Lagos Defunct companies based in Lagos 1940 disestablishments in Nigeria Defunct seaplane operators