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PIA's first Trident
is seen in this rare photo taken on January 22, 1966, at Tempelhof
International Airport in West Berlin that was under the control
of
Western Allied Powers of United States, France and United
Kingdom at that time. The Trident visited
West Berlin as Hawker Siddeley demonstrator aircraft for British
European Airways (BEA) before delivery
to PIA. BEA operated internal German route flights between West
Berlin and West Germany from 1946 to 1974. As seen in photo, 'Pakistan International' titles on
fuselage and PIA logo on tail were taped over. The PIA tail logo
was taped over with BEA logo and
temporary British registration G-ATNA was issued to the aircraft
for its visit to West Berlin. These steps were taken because at that
time West Berlin was at the heart of cold war and only those aircraft
that were registered and belonged to operators from Allied
Powers were allowed
to enter one of the three air corridors for West Berlin and land at Tempelhof
International Airport. G-ATNA, after completion of test flights
and visit to
West Berlin as demonstrator aircraft, was delivered to PIA on
March 1, 1966. It entered scheduled service with PIA on April 1,
1966, following an intensive training program that saw 100 hours
flown in the first 14 days |
