Aviation in Histalpol

Aviation in Histalpol is the commercial carriage of passengers, freight and mail by aircraft as well as military usage of aircraft, both within Histalpol and between Histalpol and the rest of AIN. in the past 20 years the industry has seen continuous growth from the isolationist approach of the 1980s to the 2000s, with the massive growth of domestic air travel from one of the country to the other, to the late 2000s till currently with the massive surge of holidays and foreign travel and relations and the demand for passenger air travel in particular is forecast to double from the current level of 295 million passengers to 473 million in 2030, and constantly rising as foreign relations improve in Histalpol. Histalpol's capital, Bastilia, holds one of the largest counts of airports in Europe for passenger traffic, with 3 international airports fir around the metropolitan district. Outside of Bastilia, the busiest airport is Renné Knighthouse Airport, acting as a destination, origin or stop-off for 15 million people as of 2012. Regional airports over Histalpol have experienced the most growth in recent years, due to the success of low-cost and charter airlines over the last decade.

History
The first aviator to cross from Histalpol to Sainte Croix, over the English Channel, was female aviator Estelle Knighthouse in 1914, quite a while after Louis Blériot went from Calais to Dover in 1909, but the trip by Estelle was 3 to 5x longer, originating from Renné travelling to Luesseu, taking 1 hour 30 minuets to travel across.

During the World Wars, with Histalpol being an island, even with it's border to Britain (Britain itself being an island and an ally in both World Wars, though never occupied), fighting in the air became as large a part of Histalpol's defence as the naval forces. During World War 2, the Axis powers captured the islands of Histalpol, turning them into the best front to attack both Histalpol and the UK, but multiple dog fights held them off the main land. The deadliest of these dog fights was during the deadliest naval battle with Axis powers in 1941 in the sea between Histalpol and Sainte Croix. This being the battle where the islands were taken. Also during WW2, the implication of blackouts such as those during the Blitz in the UK means that aviation activity during the night decreased massively apart from Axis flights that made it past the infamous "Mobile Border"

During the 1970s, Histalian commercial air travel shot up during the jet age with multiple airlines starting including many charter airlines, competing with flag bearing aircraft from multiple countries such as British Airways and Histalpol's own RoyalHistal, offering cheaper flights, these would become the low-cost and charter airlines such as Pigeon Express. This had a significant impact on air travel in the UK. They are responsible for the growth of regional airports and increasing the choice of international destinations.

In the 1990s, the Black Depression hit and all flights ground to a halt to the point that there was only on average 10 flights out of Histalpol in a day. Most airports went bankrupt, including the current 4th and 5th busiest airports in Histalpol, both Bastilia International and Legion airports. With the new isolationist government of Hayden Bolton, foreign flights were limited to the same average at the beginning of the Black Depression of 10 on average, but interior flights from island to island or from main island Histalpol to mainland Histalpol and even across the borders into the United Kingdom and Sainte Croix became popular for airlines to run, being a valid and cheap alternative to rail or ferry, though both were competing for dominance as well with their profits dwindling at first with people being reluctant to travel and spending all their luxury money. This reduction in foreign travel remained until 2002 when the depression ended, and was finally cut down in 2008 by Borgia Malstrone, restoring the many foreign routes that the airlines use to take before the Black Depression set in.

Airports
Although the number of airports in Histalpol runs into the hundreds, many are smaller aerogdromes or Military airbases dealing with both general aviation and military aviation rather than commercial air transport. In terms of the latter, statistics are collected from 67 main airports, and the largest concentration of services is located in Bastilia. The largest airport in the country is Bastilia Hough Airport, handling over 62 million terminal passengers (2006 statistics), coming shortly behind the UK's busiest airport and 3rd busiest in the world, Heathrow airport. Second largest airport is Renné Knighthouse Airport, named after female aviator and first from Histalpol to Sainte Croix, Estelle Knighthouse, which handles 15 million passengers (2012 statistic). Outside of Bastilia, with the highest concentration, Renné Knighthouse is then the most busiest, followed up by Darsingborough International Airport. These 2 airports, plus statistics, have lead to the viewed increase in regional airports.

Airlines
The majority of all passengers travelling by air to, from, or inside of Histalpol are carried by Histalian airlines, which before 1990 was around 30 but as since more then doubled, with a result of 74 airlines officially registered at the end of 2010, also numbering just over 1,200 aircraft that fly just under 1.12 million flights on average. The largest airline in passengers flown in Histalpol is the official flag bearing airline, RoyalHistal rebranded from Air Histalpol at the start of the 1980s. Along with this, the 2nd largest airline is the charter airline Pigeon Express, both accounting for over half of the 118 million passengers flown on UK airlines. In Cargo, the largest carrier for cargo is also accounted to RoyalHistal, which account for 65% of all cargo carries by Histalian airlines.