Pan Am ‘Clipper Wild Wave’, Dakar International Airport 1980s

A 1980s color photo of a Pan Am (Pan American World Airways) Boeing 747 N729PA named ‘Clipper Wild Wave’, on the apron at Dakar International Airport in Senegal during the 1980s. The image captures passengers deplaning via a mobile staircase, dressed in vibrant 80s fashions including patterned dresses, sun hats, and carrying early portable cassette players. A large group of travelers and airport personnel are gathered on the tarmac around several piles of luggage, with the massive jet engines and the iconic blue Pan Am globe logo prominent in the background. The scene reflects the bustling atmosphere of international travel in West Africa during the latter half of the 20th century.

Today, the original Dakar Yoff International Airport has been superseded by the much larger Blaise Diagne International Airport, which opened in 2017 to handle modern long-haul traffic. Pan Am, once the unofficial flag carrier of the United States, ceased operations in 1991, making this ‘Clipper Wild Wave’ image a nostalgic record of the airline’s global reach. The Boeing 747 aircraft seen here has since been retired from commercial passenger service worldwide by most major carriers. The informal tarmac baggage handling and open-air deplaning shown in this 1980s scene have largely been replaced by modern jet bridges and automated security protocols.

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