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Aerea Teseo (also known as Teseo) is a defunct airline based in Italy. It was a privately held air carrier founded in Florence in the years immediately following the Second World War.[1] It went bankrupt in July 1948 due to the financial difficulties it had encountered since its inception, aggravated by an accident at the beginning of the same year.
 | |
| Founded | 1946 |
|---|---|
Commenced operations | 1947 |
Ceased operations | 1948 |
| Hubs | Florence (Firenze) |
| Fleet size | 8 |
| Headquarters | Firenze |
| Key people |
|
Early history
editAerea Teseo S.A. was founded in September 1945 by a group of Florentine entrepreneurs. Among the investors were Giovanni Caproni and Angelo Ambrosini, both prominent figures in the aircraft manufacturing industry. The first aircraft, a Douglas C-47 already converted to carry passengers, was transferred on September 6, 1946, from Naples to Florence with a false registration. Several months passed while waiting for authorization to begin scheduled flights. Meanwhile, the fleet had grown to include eight Douglas DC3s, derived from Douglas C-47s and converted to carry 22 passengers. These twin-engine aircraft had been used by the United States Army during World War II, and were later abandoned in still acceptable condition at Naples-Capodichino airport.[2][3].
Flight operations began on 15 April 1947 with a series of routes extending from Northern Italy (Milan) to Sicily (Palermo), with intermediate stopovers in Bologna, Florence, Rome and Reggio Calabria. On 17 September, international flights were commenced, first with Florence-Rome-Barcelona, later followed by one to Brindisi-Istanbul-Ankara.
Accident
editOn February 20, 1948, the Douglas DC-3, registered I-REGI, crashed near a village in the province of Livorno. The impact killed the three crew members and almost all the passengers. The flight was originally a direct Florence-Rome one. However, it made an intermediate stop at Pisa airport to pick up some passengers who had been stranded the previous day. It seems that the pilot (who was flying towards Rome) had opted for a low-altitude flight, below the cloud base. Due to worsening weather conditions, the cloud base was actually at the same altitude as the aircraft, which, entering the clouds and losing track of its position, deviated from its planned route, impacting a hill.[4]
Closure
editThe accident negatively affected the company's image, which suspended flights and declared bankruptcy on April 25. The fleet resumed operations exactly a month later, but financial difficulties were clearly evident. Despite substantial financing from a Florence bank, the last flights were performed in June 1948.[5][6] General Manager Morrocchi himself urged the company to file for bankruptcy.
References
edit- ↑ "Aerea Teseo" (in Italian language), Associazione Valentino Giannotti, 20 February 2013
- ↑ "Aerea Teseo S.A." (in Italian language), L'Ala magazine, Firenze, 15 may 1947.
- ↑ "Le compagnie italiane di aerotrasporto" (in Italian language), L'Ala magazine, Firenze, 15 January 1948
- ↑ ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47-DL I-REGI Collesalvett, Aviation Safety Network, 20 February 1948
- ↑ Giorgio Bonsi, "Da Campo di Marte a Peretola" (in Italian language), A-News, SAF-Società Aeroporto Fiorentino SpA, Firenze
- ↑ Endres, G. (2023). Italian Icon. Milton Keynes UK & Ingram Content Group UK Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9573744-5-4.
Further reading
edit- Gianvanni, P. (1979). I trasporti aerei in Italia dalla guerra all'era del getto (in Italian). Firenze: EDAI.
- Baldini, R. (1993). Il cielo racconta (in Italian). Firenze: Edizioni Medicea.
- D’Avanzo, G. (1996). Deregulation (in Italian). Ancona: Casa Editrice Nuove Ricerche.
