More than a century ago, the Aeropostal Line was born, with which Latécoère connected France, Spain and Africa. That was the beginning of aviation in Spain and one of the most ambitious and daring initiatives in the history of aviation.
Currently they are Thousands of planes constantly fly over us. Flying is something that is very common and part of our lives. We see it as something completely normal. However, a hundred years ago it was a real adventure that was fraught with all kinds of risks. The heavy and inefficient aircraft of that time were combined with the climatic adversities that easily affected any flight or the reluctance of countries to have planes fly over them, especially if they were from foreign countries.
In that context, the figure of Pierre-Georges Latécoère, He was an entrepreneur with great initiative, a visionary man, a humanist and a man of firm convictions who was determined to use those precarious planes, built of duralumin, wood and canvas, to provide service in the civilian context. His goal was bringing people together on three continents, He left Toulouse to finally bring passengers, cargo and mail to Santiago de Chile. In fact, when he conceived the project in 1918, it was something unthinkable. The technical, human and economic resources necessary for this project were enormous. But he did it.
In its first era, in 1919, flights took place between Toulouse and Rabat, which meant crossing Spain and using some of its airports as stopovers. This meant that Latécoère Airlines had to be established. the first regular commercial line of passengers, cargo and mail which operated in Spain, which transformed those airfields where it operated into the first airports on the Iberian Peninsula.
Latécoère's obsession with punctuality and the need for both passengers and mail to arrive at their destination on time was unwavering. Therefore, there were always several spare planes at each airfield, as well as mechanics and pilots who had to ensure that all schedules were met as scrupulously as possible.
Some of the greatest pilots of the time flew in this line. Names such as Henri Guillaument, Jean Mermoz, Didier Durat, Henri Lemaitre or Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (the famous author of the novel) The Little Prince). Possibly, never before in the history of aviation pioneers had such a special group of people been assembled. Therefore, a project that on paper seemed impossible could be realized.
One hundred years have passed since the creation of that airmail line (La Ligne) with which Latécoère connected France, Spain and Africa. We have carried out a infographics in which we show some essential data that help understand and contextualize the importance of that project and everything that has come after it.
