Airports 1950s HD | Stock Footage

[@scottmathews3777]

The quality of this color footage is remarkable, especially after so many years.

[@FirstOnRaceDayCapri2904]

It's because it's film.

[@davidrobbio9816]

@@FirstOnRaceDayCapri2904 as opposed to ? Was this a special type of “film”? …8MM or movie film of it’s day ?

[@observer3232]

Fantastic quality of the film, never seen anything from this era quite as good. Love seeing the Constellations and DC-7’s!

[@peterswift9474]

Thanks for this! My father worked for TWA right after the end of WWII (bombardier/navigator-B-17) and we lived in Egypt, Canada and then New York. He was a dispatcher at Laguardia. I flew in the connies for hundreds of thousands of miles and absolutely loved them. This was a time when air travel was a real adventure. This brought back wonderful memories.

[@Liberator74]

Lucky you!

[@strafrag1]

I worked at JFK from 74 to 84 but this film was truly the dawn of commercial aviation.

[@Tirana44]

What a wonderful video. The music gives it something of an almost ‘ethereal’ air to the sight of those beautiful aircraft.

[@stevebennet6539]

What a world away from the hideousness of air travel today.. the best part of flying nowadays is leaving the airport.

[@megatronsroyalemissary382]

Can’t argue with that.

[@robertgary3561]

Only issue then is that only business people and the rich could afford to fly. It was unheard of to hear of a friend taking an airplane unless grandma died.

[@Krrrimmi]

"As the human knowledge increases. Fools will despise wisdom & discipline." -ancient proverb

[@alhanes5803]

​@@robertgary3561 Wrong...

[@alhanes5803]

​@@Krrrimmi That's why JB is pres

[@charlesflinnill978]

One of the best vids from the golden age of aviation.

[@carlhaluss]

Outstanding footage! I could watch for hours. Thank you!

[@mach037]

The opening sentence refers to JFK Airport, which of course was not its name in the 1950s. Otherwise this is an outstanding compilation of aviation history. I LOVE the fact that there is no insane rhythm or other music soundtrack accompanying it. It is perfect as is.

[@SodaPopinski2014]

Idlewild airport

[@mistyzaheer]

The people look so classy, dressed so well!

[@dijonstreak]

....Boy.....i am SO Loving THIS !!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH !!

[@kiwitintinscott]

I used to watch SABENA 707's, BOAC Stratocruisers & Lufthansa Constellations depart Manchester, England for Idlewild. Awesome, happy days 🫶😀👍👌😃

[@Krrrimmi]

Thanx to d uploader for this treasure. 👑🎬🎥

[@jimnaylor6009]

Incredible snapshot in time. Just before the jets. Good quality. Those Constellations were beautiful. My Dad flew on them all the way to Australia.

[@b1i2l336]

Golden memories! Great print quality too.

[@daviddarrall9384]

Wonderful! Right up my street! Thank you 😊 UK.

[@jonahvasquez6210]

Feels and looks like the type of 1950s that was described in those science fiction comic books. Where advance technology already existed in those days.

[@petergomes8788]

Flying then was a novelty. Tie and jacket. I did that until 1995. Same applied to working in engineering office.

[@Liberator74]

🤩 Beautiful footage - oh, to go back in time and experience this!🤩

[@dfolt]

This is some awesome footage from the pre-jet age.

[@JoePez]

Video from 1950: *HD Quality and can easily make out facial features* Bank security cameras in 2021: *able to count the pixels on the screen*

[@hoedemakerbart]

Beautiful constellation

[@TumzDK]

3:20 a Canadair North Star. I never knew of this aircraft until I saw this video. Nice find!

[@lrg8734]

These were known as Argonauts in BOAC's fleet, not North Stars, though they're basically the same. Go figure...

[@royfearn4345]

@@lrg8734 yes, from BOAC, some went to Overseas Aviation and when they went bust four went to Derby Airways (UK), one to canibalise as spares. One went down in Stockport when attempting to land at Manchester with no engines working due to fuel distribution issues.

[@roachtoasties]

1950's: Everyone dresses up for their flight. 2000's: It's people in their pajamas, with some not bothering to take a bath, for their fight.

[@michlo3393]

Says the guy who probably sorts flights in order of price. Your ass would be taking Greyhound back then with the rest of the plebes.

[@paulj2948]

Imagine 10 hours across the Atlantic in a prop. No in flight entertainment, no wifi, no music, no ghetto fights breaking out, just relax to the sound of the engines and eat, smoke, drink, sleep. Then repeat. I remember smoking on planes in the 80s. Cold beer and cigarettes at 30000 feet was a joy!

[@TerryM-eu5ou]

No Ghetto Fights..sad, but true…😟

[@robertgary3561]

The good ole days when regular people couldn't afford to fly.

[@reznichcb]

ATCkeepsUsafe Spasibo, stovarishch!

[@paulj2948]

So true! None of the hooligans you see today. Or traveling in pajamas!

[@paulj2948]

​@@Diana-yn2hoback then it was all first class.

[@Chachoes]

14:52 this looks like a scene straight out of a movie

[@killzxo21]

I feel a nostalgia that I never even lived… wow. I wish I was born in the 50s to see the greatest eras evolve. The 60s, 70s, THE 80s and 90s and even a little bit of the early 2000s…

[@lasnico_7]

6:52 - 7:08 When you go somewhere but have to come back because you forgot something

[@cookie_monster3200]

Made me chuckle

[@michaelayearout1631]

that old shell cabover pulling a pup tanker though!!!!!

[@lls6001]

How did I guess that if I looked at the comments, it would be full of a rose tinted view of flying 'back in the day'. At least today you have a bigger chance of actually making it to you destination, you can fly above the weather, you're not in a bumpy, noisy cabin full or cigarette smoke. And for all those who don't seem to like that more people are able to travel and see the world in the 2000s, are you sure you would have been able to afford a ticket in the 50s?

[@grayrabbit2211]

I had quite a few flights back in the 1980s and yes, the aircraft weren't anywhere near what they are today. BUT the experience was superior. Both the airlines and passengers were far more civil. It didn't seem like a hassle or cattle call. Flight attendants were humane. Airlines had frequent delays but manged to treat you well despite it. Meals were actually edible and ornately presented. We had real stewardesses who were not just "here for your safety only." Security was reasonable and pleasant. There were no goons in ill-fitting rent-a-cop uniforms with tin stars barking and threatening people with "do you really want to fly today?" It's why I fly charter / GA these days. Sure, the aircraft are small, bouncy, delays, no pre-departure beverages, but it's almost always an absolute pleasure to do so.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Air sickness bags saw much greater use as a result of all that relatively low altitude flying and sometimes passing not around, but through thunderstorms especially before weather radar was mandatory on airliners starting in 1961.

[@adamshaw9974]

i was waiting for those bea viscount's to rotate... they are teasing me by not rotating XD unbelievable video! thankyou very very much!!!

[@charlesflinnill978]

I'd love to fly in a Connie and a DC 3 again!

[@Orangeystars01]

Dang that looks so fresh 😊

[@lasnico_7]

How is everything so spotless? It doesn't feel real.

[@royfearn4345]

That's how America used to be; nowadays you have to go to Canada!

[@zekeonstormpeak4186]

Back when flying was an event, not a bus ride.

[@hawlikd]

People dressed up nice when they traveled!

[@paulj2948]

Even the air traffic controllers

[@willbygosh4887]

That was Henry Fonda stepping out of the plane being welcomed by the paparazzi !

[@779nkp]

Constellations!

[@greensocks4507]

Fantastic. What is the music please?

[@timnell207]

The DC-3 looks so tiny behind the -377

[@02081953able]

My God...too much time ago....all those people are passed away 😔😔😔😔😔

[@arthurteo8111]

Piston Engine prop aircraft like the Lockheed Constellation flying passengers from Sydney to London is hard to fathom. Unfortunately no footage of Singapore's Kallang Airport known to exist. It was packed full of constellations, DC3 4,6 and Electras.

[@NUSORCA]

This is refreshing my knowledge...and those planes were indeed dangerous when u sat near the engines

[@willyboy3581]

Just a footnote: As a boy, I remember flying Japan Air Lines (both the DC-6 and DC-7) at about this time, and my father gently explaining to me the significance of the slogan the "Wings of the new Japan" (seen here @ 16.37 on the JAL liner "City of Osaka").

[@taridean]

In 50-60 years time, they'll be watching footage of 747s, A380s, 757s, 767s and Concorde just we are watching these vintage airliners today.

[@paulj2948]

And they'll see all the video of fights breaking out, people drunk, dragged off planes yelling profanities and being violent. They'll say how civilized it was in 2023.

[@taridean]

@@paulj2948 Ah the "Jet Age", where the technology in the aircraft has advanced, but passenger experience has regressed.

[@paulj2948]

@@taridean there should be a no fighting section on planes and let the ghetto flying cattle Duke it out behind a cage in the back.

[@hoormazdshahhoseini7665]

Human is incredible,

[@cooganalaska3249]

Is that Henry Fonda at 7:55?

[@miguelgabriel7568]

Handsome..great..ótimo lindo video

[@77Neville]

Also shots of London Heathrow, Beirut and Rome Ciampino.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

Airline staff say , if you dress smartly , you have more chance of being upgraded to business or first class . (if there is an operational need to do so)

[@luchatrokaalvaradoguajardo5185]

The Electra, the Fairchild F-27s, the Vickers Vanguard and the Martin 404 were missing.

[@JS-iy4zb]

Those Northwest Airlines Boeing 377s !

[@TerryM-eu5ou]

Love this footage….is this real footage or AI, Artificial Intelligence? The World today is becoming a Science Fiction Comic Book..Born in 1951..What to believe and what not to believe…Great footage, for sure..I’m a licensed pilot…reminds me of when I was a kid growing up in Connecticut..I was always looking up, every time I heard the sound of an aircraft engine…🙂

[@timnell207]

Is that a Viscount at 8:50 ish?

[@brianholihan5497]

Great footage, but the sullen music feels way out of place. Please replace it with optimistic music from that time.

[@charlesbear2734]

my first trip to Europe was in a connie.

[@paulj2948]

I missed the prop age. My first trip to Europe was a DC8 in the early 80s. 727, DC9, L1011, A300, and 707 domestically before that in the 70s on family trips. I remember flying all those. Remember National Airlines? Several family trips. Eastern, too.

[@williamtoad8040]

There’s more difference between the airports of this video and the video from the 1970s than there is between airports from the 1970s and today, minus the sweat pants, long ass security lines, and cramped plane interiors. Also 6:21 looks like someone had a nasty rear end accident 😖

[@michlo3393]

All of that rosey nostalgia hides the fact that air travel back then was dangerous, noisy, cramped, uncomfortable, and cost a FORTUNE. Oh, but people were wearing suits so I guess it must have been fucking glamorous 🙄 Spend ONE flight in a DC-3 during rough weather and you will BEG for a seat on Spirit Airlines. I promise you that.

[@williamtoad8040]

@@michlo3393 I wouldn’t want to fly on those aircraft’s also, look at Douglas McConnells safety record. Technology improves, so does safety, affordability and comfort, I’ve seen pictures of the interiors of Ford Tri-Motors and DC-3s. I meant were more causal today because it’s not seen as a luxury or privilege to fly anymore it’s common for everyone we don’t dress up to travel.

[@brunotito731]

Je donnerai n'importe quoi N'IMPORTE QUOI POUR ALLEZ A CETTE ÉPOQUE . MAGNIFIQUE VIDÉO TOUS LES AVIONS OBJETS AUSSI BIEN LES(( VOITURES)) TOUT ÉTAIT PLUS BEAU .

[@sonata_x6104]

oui ! je suis daccord ja naime pas la nouvelle generation

[@TheHomearch]

good old days!!! thx for video!

[@JustinLHopkins]

TheHomearch For certain people. For others it was hell.

[@alhanes5803]

​@@JustinLHopkins Best part of the good ole days, we didn't have to deal with idiots like you. Jus sayin.

[@gaguy1967]

what's the music at the beginning

[@bobbypaluga4346]

Does anyone know if the Comet ever flew the London-New York city pair? I know they lost aircraft off Italy, Karachi, etc which would indicate BOAC had no problem with distance, but I have never seen a picture of a Comet on US soil

[@scottmathews3777]

The BOAC Comet IV did, in 1958, about three weeks before Pan Am inaugurated New York-London service on the 707. Britain was able to claim the first scheduled jet service across the Atlantic, but BOAC soon switched to the 707 themselves and used the Comet on other routes. I flew on a Comet IV once, in 1973, on a charter from AMS to LGW. Nothing exceptional about it, just a perfectly adequate airplane.

[@paulojorge4522]

Não vivi, mas é bom lembrar o passado

[@lls6001]

I love these videos...but the background music is so depressing...

[@camiemengineer]

그래서 많은 아름다운 별자리

[@mtl6562]

No airport should be named for any person, it should always be named for the city it serves.

[@RealmsofPixelation]

So nice to see everyone wearing suits and ties. People had more class and dignity back then I suppose. People these days are pretty disgusting by comparison.

[@Jackal776]

Also flying was so expensive only the wealthy could do it. Imagine a present day airport with only First Class passengers.

[@777pusher]

Any comment I might make would be considered bigotry or racist, as true a comment as it might be😐

[@777pusher]

Adam - surprisingly, airfare, compared to most other inflationary cost increases, has stayed mostly stagnant for 30+ years. Hence the decrease in meal service, entertainment, baggage fees, other fees.

[@famousbowl9926]

Segregation. Yeah. LOTS of dignity... fucking idiot ...

[@мир_4]

@@famousbowl9926 just because certain things about the times were bad doesn't mean everything about it was bad. Idiot.

[@thankunext1625]

they had sushi on the plane?? lol what the heck changed, bring that back

[@ryanorourke9397]

Mikayla Eneria , .

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Yep, on Japan Airlines Douglas DC-7Cs and DC-6Bs flying out of SFO and LAX in the 1950s (JAL DC-6B seen in this film at SFO).

[@MAU04NC]

Back then flying was a privilege, now it's like they are entitled to, that's why there are no more respect when people travel nowadays. yuck

[@thaothu2588]

I thought it was black and white.

[@donkinzett3961]

I wonder why everyone dressed up to travel?

[@Mark-st7mp]

Keep on wondering!

[@lookeywho1287]

Because, unlike today, people weren't slobs.

[@megatronsroyalemissary382]

Lookey Who We may be slobs, but at least we aren’t snobs.

[@hueso5071]

Mainly wealthy people. Mainly white people.

[@paulj2948]

In the beginning it was the rich and celebrities only. A place to be seen. You didn't crawl out of bed in your pajamas, put on fluffy slippers, and head right to the airport like the dirty slobs do today. They even bring the bed pillow! Disgraceful.

[@maggaveli6764]

Why do people glorify the past so much, yay for terrible safety records and unaffordable dangerous flying.

[@paulj2948]

Because it was more civil and prestigious

[@maggaveli6764]

@@paulj2948 for the rich lol, not the average Joe

[@paulj2948]

@@maggaveli6764 yes. Just like space flight and ocean exploration today.

[@alhanes5803]

​@@maggaveli6764 No, for the civilized, not the slobs.

[@michelleroberts5472]

Early British turboprops much nicer than American piston shakers

[@mro9466]

Classic aviation porn

[@Thefilmgate]

Thats what we do 😉

[@NoTaboos]

Why show that ugly statue at the end?

[@dfolt]

Because it is Rio de Janeiro perhaps? And: beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

[@hawlikd]

Nobody is wearing any stupid masks!