Muharram Al-Hassan - The Journey
120 years ago, flying in the sky was not a normal thing, and the idea of crossing continents in hours was nothing but a distant dream. On the morning of September 13, 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont stood in front of his 14-bis plane near Paris, surrounded by the curiosity of people and the anxiety of the experiment, trying to grab just a few meters from the ground. The distance was short, but it was enough to open a wide door to a new world. A world in which travel will become a part of life, and the sky will transform from impossible borders into a road that connects cities and continents.

A step that preceded the most famous journey

The 14-bis was a primitive aircraft with a wood and bamboo fuselage and an Antoinette engine. On October 23, 1906, Santos-Dumont succeeded in flying a distance of approximately 60 meters in front of an audience in Paris, before achieving a longer flight on November 12, amounting to approximately 220 meters in 21.5 seconds and at an altitude of approximately 6 meters. These flights were considered among the most important early stages in the public and documented history of European aviation.

When flying became a public spectacle
The importance of Santos-Dumont was not in the plane alone, but in his insistence on conducting his experiments publicly in front of the public and the relevant bodies. Dan Hagedorn, a former curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, describes that stage as a moment when Santos-Dumont learned to fly practically while in the air, in an experience that embodied the spirit of adventure that characterized the beginnings of the industry.

From an individual experience to a global industry

After 120 years, the irony seems enormous. The plane, which in one of its first attempts did not exceed a few metres, paved the way for an era in which flights became the backbone of international tourism, connecting cities and continents and changing the concept of distance and time.

From a small experience to billions of travelers

For today's Arab traveler, this story is a reminder that the ease of moving between Dubai and Paris, Riyadh and London, or Doha and New York is the result of a full century of rapid development in aviation. From a small experiment outside Paris, an industry emerged that has become a key factor in the growth of tourism, investment, and hospitality around the world.
Between 7 meters in 1906 and thousands of kilometers today, the history of modern travel can be summed up in one idea: flying changed the world because it changed the meaning of distance.