British Airtours

British Airtours

IATA ICAO Callsign KT BKT BEATOURS
Founded	24 April 1969 (1969-04-24) (as BEA Airtours)
Ceased operations	14 April 1988 (1988-04-14) (rebranded as Caledonian Airways)
Operating bases	London–Gatwick Manchester
Parent company	British European Airways (1969–1974) British Airways (1974–1988)
Headquarters	Administrative HQ: Gatwick Airport (1970–1988) Corporate HQ: Ruislip (1969–1973) Corporate HQ: Heathrow Airport (1974–1988) Combined HQ: Lowfield Heath, Crawley (1988–1999)
Key people	P.C.F. Lawton Eamonn Mullaney Capt. W. Baillie George Blundell-Pound E.L. Killip J.R. Wood Capt. P.J. McKeown R.A. Thorburn W.A. Thompson J. Marshall

British Airtours (stylised as British aırtours) was a charter airline in the United Kingdom with flight operations out of London Gatwick and Manchester Airports.

Established as BEA Airtours in 1969, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways (BA) following the merger between British European Airways (BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in the early 1970s. British Airtours adopted the Caledonian Airways name when the newly British Airways completed the acquisition of the rival British Caledonian in April 1988. Caledonian Airways was eventually sold to tour operator Inspirations in 1995, marking BA's exit from the mainstream inclusive tour market. In 1999, Thomas Cook acquired Inspirations and merged Caledonian Airways with Flying Colours to form JMC Air Services, a forerunner of the UK arm of the later Thomas Cook Airlines. On 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook Airlines ceased operations, thus ending the legacy of British Airtours.