Lae Would Certainly Like That

Lae, New Guinea, which has been the hub of the airways business in Papua-Netu Guinea, looked like taking second place when Qantas Super Constellations go on the service from Sydney next year, and terminate in Port Moresby. But there may be a face-save for Lae, after all. The big war-time airstrip at Nadzab, 26 miles up the Mark ham Valley from Lae, has recently been inspected by the Depart ment of Civil Aviation with a view to allowing Qantas to land Super Constellations there during the annual uplift of schoolchildren from Australia to the Territory for the Christmas holidays.

At the same time, KLM has asked permission to land Super Constellation on Nadzab with tourists from Dutch New Guinea. Lae could do with some tourists. It is a handy jumping-off place for some of the most interesting parts of the Territory but is usually by-passed by cruise ships, which take the easy way out with Port Moresby and, occasionally, Rabaul.