Concorde giveaway
2003-05-28 20:33
Paris - With the cessation of its Concorde flights just days away, Air France said on Wednesday it would donate four of its remaining five supersonic aircraft to aeronautic institutions around the world.
"The Concorde belongs to aviation's and humanity's heritage," Air France said in a press statement.
The Concordes will go to the Speyer Technical Museum in Sinsheim, Germany; the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC; the Air and Space Museum in Le Bourget, France; and to the European air manufacturer Airbus, in Toulouse, France.
The fifth Air France Concorde will be exposed at Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris.
Not far from that airport, an Air France Concorde crashed in July 2000, killing 113 people, a disaster that contributed to the decision by Air France and British Airways, the only carriers to fly the Concorde, to stop its commercial supersonic service.
Air France will stop flying its Concordes on May 31, while British Airways said it would cease the service at the end of October. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA