3 MAY 1919, Page 3

Towards the end of last week the air was released

from war service-for civilian. purposes, and no doubt civilians of enterprise and courage will shortly use private two-seater biplanes for week-ending journeys to country cottages. At all events they

are free to do so' if they follow, so far as their skill and the weather permit, the proper route, either to Brighton or Clacton- on-Sea, or, venturing more boldly, to St. Ives or Chester. When Ministers of the State travel regularly by air to Paris with punctual smoothness, the sceptic about regular air transport must maintain a sacred silence ; and when the leading journals- publish the official air-route chart for the British- Isles, from Plymouth to London and London to Edinburgh, the sceptic must sit absolutely dumb. A curious feature of this chart is its warning to many important cities that when flying really does supersede railway and road travel their identity and importance will suffer an air-change into place-names new and strange.