Airbridge (logistics)

The term generally refers to a Airlift temporarily established air corridor to a particular geographic point. This results in an air Confidence Tung of goods or rarely, people. The device is tied to a specific application, so that the term only in conjunction with the accompanying designation of military or civilian operation.

Frequent applications, leading to the establishment of an air bridge are:

• Supply corridor for military troops in a battle of encirclement
• Supply corridor for major disaster areas after natural disasters
• Fast flying out of large populations from crisis areas
• Rapid deployment of military organizations in a crisis area

History

Historically, the first air bridges on the availability of a sufficiently large number of bound load aircraft ( starting around the 1930s ). In case of supply flights the goods over the target area can be dropped instead of landing in the target area. When evacuation missing runways must be compensated by use of helicopters, but which have a much lower transport capacity.

As the first major airlift of troops of the later dictator Francisco Franco is true at the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. With the support of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy 25000 soldiers were flown Ju - 52 aircraft over the Strait of Gibraltar. During the Second World War military airlifts were the usual tactics, also by the availability of more powerful aircraft for the air Confidence Tung.

Other historic airlifts were