Airwork ― A History

Airwork Ltd/Airwork Services, now owned by VT group plc, has a long and distinguished history. It played an important role in defense support services to the RAF, Fleet Air Arm and overseas air forces, as well as in the development of civil aviation. Created at Heston in 1928, it maintained Whitley bombers and de Havilland Tiger Moths in the 1930s and established the precursors of the postWW2 airlines of Egypt, India, and Rhodesia. Postwar it was the first airline to be awarded a troop flying contract and expanded into civil aviation, developing flights to Africa and the US. The main independent airline in the 1950s, it became part of British United Airways in 1960, also establishing many airlines around the world, including Deutsche Flugdienst (Condor), MisrAirwork (Egyptair), and the Sudanese National Airline. Here Keith McCloskey presents the first history of this important airline and reveals its impact on aviation history.

Keith McCloskey is an export trader with a lifelong passion for aviation and its history. His father was a pilot for Aer Lingus and his mother an air stewardess, also with Aer Lingus. Keith has previously written Glasgow's Airport and Edinburgh Airport. In his working life he met many people who had worked for Airwork, especially in Africa and the Middle East, and was inspired to write a history of this hugely influential company.