ConcordeIn 1977, regular passenger service between New York and Europe on the supersonic Concorde began on a trial basis. Whereas scheduled Concorde flights started on 21 Jan 1976 for London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes, the U.S. Congress had banned Concorde landings in America, mainly due to citizen protest over sonic booms. When the U.S. ban was lifted in Feb 1976, for over-water supersonic flight, New York banned Concorde locally. Thus, Washington D.C. became the first destination for transatlantic service, beginning 24 May 1976, by Air France and British Airways. When New York later accepted Concorde traffic, daily transatlantic service operated until 24 Oct 2003 with a flight time just under 3.5 hours.« |
