Maritime Central Airways
Operator Identification
1941 to 1963
Canada
TYPE: Airline
IATA/ICAO CODES: -- / ---
HEADQUARTERS: Moncton, NB
FORMER NAME: Nil
SUBSEQUENT NAME: Eastern Provincial Airways (merged 1963)
Operator History
Maritime Central Airways was founded by Carl Burke and Josiah Anderson in 1941 out of Moncton, NB to provide passenger and cargo services in Newfoundland and Labrador. It started operations using a Boeing 247 and a Fairchild 24. The airline initially operated a mix of charter and scheduled flights, along with missions in support of the war effort, mainly search & rescue.
By 1946, additional aircraft included a Douglas DC-3, DH Dragon Rapide, Lockheed 10 Electra, Cessna Crane, and Consolidated PBY. Maritime Central kept growing in the late 1940's, with a twice weekly mail service to the Magdalen Islands, seal surveys in the Gulf of St Lawrence and off the coast of Labrador, ice patrols and charters from Charlottetown and Yarmouth bringing lobsters to Boston, CT and New York, NY. By 1948, traffic had reached two million pounds of freight. By 1953, Martime Central had become the third largest air carrier in Canada. It launched the first air service to the St Pierre & Miquelon and secured a contract to supply 17 of the 42 Distant Early Warning (DEW) line stations in the Canadian arctic. The company also engaged in international charter work, with a four-year contract to transport Hungarian refugees and cargo flights carrying monkeys from India and Pakistan.
Financial problems started with the loss of a DC4 and all souls on board on 11 August 1957 in Quebec. Finally, in 1963, the company merged into Eastern Provincial Airways.
Commando Operations
December 1950* to January 1963*
Maritime Central operated a total of 6 Commandos.
Last edited: 09/12/2023