I started this page on Wikipedia (check it out). Can anyone verify (with references if possible) if the world’s first passenger jet service on the BOAC Comet 1, G-ALYP, 3rd May 1952, did indeed land at this airport, or did it land at Jan Smuts Airport? I got the information from the reference I quoted in the article. However, there is conflicting information in other places, but most websites simply say Johannesburg without specifying which airport. British Airways has not yet replied to my query I sent them(because their computer thinks I am complaining about the flight service). Palmietfontein Airport was active in a very nostalgic period of aviation, and probably is a better location for an airport than where Oliver R Tambo I.A.(new name for Jan Smuts Apt) is now. It is 500 feet lower than ORTIA and therefore does not suffer from the easterly fog, smog and density altitude effects which hinder ORTIA. The drawback is that this zone is very far from Pretoria.
By: Newforest - 6th December 2009 at 12:28
Well done, another example of the rule, ‘if you want a job done, do it yourself!’:)
By: Arabella-Cox - 6th December 2009 at 12:23
Guys, look at the page now (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmietfontein_Airport), I dug around some more and came up with :
1) Some nice pics on Flickr- follow the links. Wiki wont upload them because the copyright is in question and
2) Not only did the worlds first passenger jet service land there, but it was the destination of the first flight proving that air links between Australia and South Africa were possible.
The Thokosa beerhall is now smack bang in the middle of the main runway lending credence to the “8 feet between bottle and throttle” rule:D
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November 16, 2009 at 8:55 pm