The de Havilland DH 106 Comet became the world's first commercial jet airliner, debuting in 1952 with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).
Commercial air travel boomed through the 1950s and, for the first time in history, more US passengers were travelling by air than train. The 1950s also ushered in the "jet age". The de Havilland DH 106 Comet became the world's first commercial jet airliner, debuting in 1952 with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). Here, crowds are seen waving the aircraft off as it leaves London for Johannesburg, South Africa.