National Air Communications

National Air Communications was a British government organisation that directed civilian flying operations from the outbreak of World War II until April 1940.

During the 1930s, and up to 1938, the British government progressively implemented the recommendations of the Maybury Committee Report and related later reports, by organising and installing air traffic control, weather reporting, navigation and radio systems for civilian aviation. In 1938, the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) was set up by the Air Navigation (Licensing of Public Transport) Order 1938, under the Air Navigation Act 1936 (S.5). Chaired by Trustam Eve, the ATLA issued provisional licences to airports and to air transport companies operating regular services, throughout 1938 and 1939. Licensing, and some subsidising of services, was conditional on agreements that commercial aircraft fleets would be made available to the government in a national emergency. In parallel, the Civil Air Guard scheme of 1938 provided subsidised pilot training in return for future military call-up commitments. At that time, the Air Ministry, headed by Secretary of State for Air, Sir Kingsley Wood, was responsible for both military and civil aviation, and the Director-General of Civil Aviation was Sir Francis Shelmerdine.

On 29 August 1939, prior to the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, the British government started to implement the Air Navigation (Restriction in Time of War) Order 1939. That ordered military takeover of most civilian airfields in the UK, cessation of all private flying without individual flight permits, and other emergency measures. It was administered by a statutory department of the Air Ministry titled National Air Communications (NAC). On 31 August 1939, all flights to mainland Europe were briefly suspended, later reinstated under the organisation of NAC. By 1 September 1939, most of the aircraft and facilities of British Airways Ltd (BAL) were transferred from Heston Airport to Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, and to Exeter Airport. Similarly, landplanes of Imperial Airways were transferred from Croydon Airport to Whitchurch, while others were temporarily dispersed to Coventry (Baginton) Airport and Exeter Airport. Imperial Airways' flying boats were transferred from Southampton marine aerodrome to Poole Harbour, Dorset. All the usable fleets of private air transport companies were dispersed:

...
Wikipedia