Meet Some VIP Passengers Who Flew into Foynes on Flying Boats

Passengers in transit to and from America frequently had long stopovers at Foynes for operational reasons, weather, or mechanical delays. Due to its prohibitive cost, it was usually the rich, famous, and powerful who were traveling aboard flying boats.

Below is a list of just some of the VIPs who flew into Foynes as part of their transatlantic journeys.

Politicians

John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia
Polish Prime Minister Mikolajczjk
Czechoslovakian Minister Jan Masaryk
New Zealand Prime Minister P. Frazer
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anthony Eden, Foreign and Dominions Secretary
Renowned economist John Maynard Keynes, also of the British Treasury
British Minister A. P. Herbert
Lord Louis Mountbatten
John F. Kennedy

Royalty

Prince Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia
Charlotte, Duchess of Luxembourg
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
King George of Greece
Olaf, Crown Prince of Norway
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands

Artists and Entertainers

Novelist Ernest Hemingway
Actor and director Douglas Fairbanks
Actor and comedian Bob Hope
Actor Merle Oberon
Actress Gracie Fields
Actor Bill Rogers
Actor Edward G. Robinson
Actor Humphrey Bogart
Musician Yehudi Menuhin

More Information

Click through to learn more about some of the key flying boat airlines, a few major types of flying boats, and the pioneering pilots of these amazing machines.