Farewell to Passenger Flying

On July 15th 2008, our faithful Dakotas will end their long and flawless passenger carrying duties. But this isn't the comfortable retirement of respected old ladies; we know they have it in them to outlive us all - as anyone who's flown in them will confirm.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, it's spiralling regulations that have achieved what time couldn't. European legislation has decreed that all passenger-carrying aircraft must comply with certain criteria - whatever their age. Some of these modifications would be prohibitively expensive; some are actually impossible to carry out on the DC-3.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been immensely supportive and helpful, and we're grateful for the help they've given us. But time is passing, and it looks ever more certain that 16th July - the implementation date for the EU-OPS legislation - will see our Daks no longer allowed to carry passengers.

Hence the Farewell Tour

Dakotas have been synonymous with the Air Atlantique for a fair few years now, and hundreds of people have heard those Pratt & Whitneys making their unique music outside. We want to give as many people as possible this last chance to fly in the greatest airliner in history - the airliner that made flying profitable for the airlines, and safe and dependable for passengers.

The tour will see us bringing the Daks to airports throughout Britain. We'll be asking you to join us for a commemorative flight, to hear the thunder of those great engines for what could be the last time.

Help us to make this farewell tour into the send-off that these faithful, dependable old birds deserve.

Time flies. Fly with it before it's gone.

A Word About Safety

It's worth stressing at this point that we're fully committed to anything that makes flying safer - as our safety record demonstrates. The EU-OPS legislation is well-intentioned, but it lays down requirements that are impossible or impractical for vintage aircraft.

Fitting oxygen masks to an aircraft that never flies high enough to use them, or equipping it with chutes to deliver passengers to the ground four feet below the exit door would be prohibitively expensive - even if the items were available. And these are just an example.

Sadly, from July 15th, we have to withdraw the Daks from passenger flying

Say goodbye to the Daks with a farewell flight

Goodbye Dakotas :: Dakota Farewell Tour 2008

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