Civil aviation developed at an unprecedented pace. It took only six decades for aviation to become one of the most popular modes of passenger transport, eclipsing the railroad. Air passengers appeared in 1908, the first air cargo was delivered in 1910, the first charter flight was made in 1911, the first airline carrying scheduled passengers was in 1914, the first stewardess in 1930, and the air marshal in 1968.

American inventor Orville Wright made the first controlled flight on a heavier-than-air aircraft. The historic event took place near the town of Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. The plane Wright Flyer (he invented and assembled two brothers – Orville and Wilbur Wilbur Wright) flew 36.5 meters and stayed in the air for 12 seconds. Three more flights were made immediately thereafter, one of which lasted nearly a minute.

Curiously enough, the inventors of the airplane, like many other inventors, were confident that their brainchild would serve the cause of peace exclusively. The Wright brothers believed that the airplane would make world peace possible. There would be no more wars because there would be no more safe places in the world, so the powerful would not want to risk their lives. As we know, the Wright brothers were wrong – the cause of the tragedies of Guernica, Dresden and Hiroshima were airplanes.

1906.
The first aviation record is set. The French pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont rose to a height of 6 meters and covered a distance of 220 meters.

1907.
The world’s first airport with airplane hangars is built – it was in the French town of Issy-les-Moulineaux.
American businessman Glenn Curtiss founded the world’s first airline company.

1911.
For the first time in the world, a group of more than 10 passengers took off. The plane was piloted by the French pilot and inventor Louis Breguet, who carried his passengers a distance of 5 km.

The first non-stop international flight with passengers on board. The Frenchman Pierre Prieur made a flight from London to Paris, the trip took 3 hours and 45 minutes.

1918.
The world’s first regular international airmail delivery is organized in Austria. At the end of the year, due to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this service ceased to exist.

1919.
The first international passenger airline opened between Paris (France) and Brussels (Belgium). It was created by Lignes Aériennes Farman. The flight took 2 hours and 50 minutes.

1926.
Deutsche Lufthansa was formed, the oldest passenger airline in existence today. In 1934 Lufthansa was the first airline in the world to carry its millionth passenger.