Letters on the air

The First organized, regular Airmail service starts in India, today in 1929. This service, between Lahore and Karachi and Delhi, would quickly expand pan-subcontinent in just a few years.

A sample letter from Karachi to Delhi; Source: Public Domain

The early 20th century was dominated by various innovators trying to make all fields of the economy smoother. One of this was communication. Telegraph was fast, but it was not suitable for carrying big information, which took time and was very expensive to transmit. But the invention of heavier - than - air aircraft by the Wright brothers seemed a good possibility.

Airplane delivered mail could be both fast, and extensive - it just needed a bare strip of land to land on. What’s most interesting is that in February 1911, the first trial airmail trials were organised in India. A Frenchman, Henri Pequet, carried 6000 cards and letters on his biplane, and made off from Allahabad to Naini. This small 5 mile flight would just be the taste of what was to come, however.

As the 1920s rolled on, advancements in airframes meant that not only wooden biplanes, but steel monoplanes could be used to carry heavier payloads faster and over longer distances than usual. In this context, on the 30th of March, 1929, was launched the First Air Mail service in India. Imperial Airways, the British Empire’s principal airlines, was developing its flight services from England through Europe to Asia and then Australia as well.

Thus, by 30th March, they expanded their service to India as well with Lahore and Karachi being service stations, and by December, they would extend it to Jodhpur and Delhi. Soon, the airmail efforts were coordinated into the Empire Air mail service, and it served its long routes, transferring important communiques, urgent letters, and anyone rich enough to pay for the fast delivery.

The air mail had come a long way from being the small 5 mile trip first trialled in the country - now it increasingly began to surpass all distances, connecting millions of people together, at a fast rate never seen before.