The introduction of passenger airplane service drastically changed the face of transportation throughout the world.  As passenger jets became larger, the idea also emerged to make passenger planes faster.  The French company, Aerospatiale, and the British Aircraft Corporation parterned to make the fastest passenger plane ever, the turbojet-powered Concorde.

On this day, May 24th, in 1976, Concorde service between London and Washington, D.C. began.    The Concorde had previously been banned in the United States, because of residents complaints about the sonic boom that accompanied the aircraft’s flight.  Service was eventually allowed by US Secretary of Transportation, WIlliam Coleman. Concorde flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to London Heathrow could be completed in about 4 hours in 20 minutes, which was nearly 3 hours shorter than traditional flight times.

Transatlantic Concorde service went on to include other U.S. locations, such as New York, and continued until 2003.  The Concorde’s retirement flight took place on November 26, 2003 from New York to London.  Since the Concorde’s last flight, there has not been a return to supersonic commercial air travel.