The Trans-Canada Air Route
On May 5, 1928, Canada’s aerial postal service was officially opened. The
success of the Rimouski-Montreal section, combined with a national policy on
aerial mail, was a key factor in the establishment of a trans-Canada air route.
![Newspaper article](/web/20061029152926im_/http://www.warmuseum.ca/cpm/courrier2/images/mcpcc71a.jpg) |
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Newspaper article
"New Air Mail Routes Are Inaugurated" Montreal Daily Star, May 5, 1928
Courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, Montreal
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The trans-Canada air route consisted of a long passage from Halifax to Vancouver,
completed over a 10-year period
(at intervals that fluctuated between fast and
slower as a result of the Depression). The first regular transcontinental flight
between Montreal and Vancouver took place in 1939. During this particularly harsh
period of the recession, the Maritime regions had to wait until the following year
before the first postal planes reach Moncton.
The trans-Canada air route was made up of several 160-kilometre
sections, which
were all linked by airports. Several emergency landing zones were marked along
the route. To maintain efficiency, the aerial service operated on a 24-hour basis;
mail needed to be picked up at the end of the workday and circulated the following
morning. Such a schedule made night flights necessary, and so the airports between
each section were soon equipped with lights.
The success of the route depended on regular service. In areas where mail
delivery had been sporadic, people were delighted at the idea of a monthly
service and overjoyed at the thought of a weekly delivery; occasional delays
of up to several days caused by bad weather did not greatly affect them. In
urban areas, however, service had to be regular and punctual, and so had to
operate day and night.