Trans Mediterranean Airways: 1974 Round The Globe
Jet service was introduced by TMA in 1966, with the lease-purchase of a Boeing 707-331C and Jeddah was added to the network. That airliner type will become TMA’s workhorse for more than 3 decades. Freight carried by TMA doubled between 1964 and 1967. In July 1967, the Beirut-Bombay sector was extended to Tokyo via Bangkok, Manila, Taipei and Osaka; with precious traffic rights between most sectors. TMA was already operating the longest all-cargo route in the world, from western Europe to Japan. During the night of the 28th to the 29th of December 1968, commandos attacked by surprise Beirut’s International Airport, destroying 14 civilian aircraft. During this attack, two TMA aircraft were destroyed , 1 DC-4 and 1 DC-6; but these losses were lower than those of MEA (a newly acquired Boeing 707-320C, 3 Sud Aviation Caravelles, 3 de Havilland Comets, a leased Vickers VC-10 and a Vickers Viscount) and LIA (2 Convair CV-990A jets and a Douglas DC-7, the airline never recovered from the attack). The I operation drew unanimous international condemnation. Undeterred, TMA continued its conquest of the world’s air cargo markets. In 1969, new destinations were introduced: Athens, Istanbul, Milan, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, Tripoli, Benghazi and Singapore.