The citizens of the twin cities were in a frenzy.

Hundreds of cars revved up, heading to the airport. Traffic soon snarled the streets and the main roads.

The Air France Concorde departs Kingsford Smith Airport on August 22, 1987.Credit: Philip Wayne Lock

Even the Hume Highway, which in those days was just another street snaking through built-up areas, was clogged with snorting, stationary trucks in both directions.

Everyone was in a whirl to witness the world’s sexiest passenger plane, the Concorde, make an emergency landing at Albury airport.

It is difficult to imagine now, but in the 1970s, Australia was wide-eyed with excitement about the promise of supersonic air travel that would have us leaving Melbourne or Sydney at breakfast and landing in London (local time) for a late lunch.

The whole trip of 13 hours, including refuelling stops and, the publicity promised, chicken satay in Singapore, would involve just 10 hours in the air.

Dream machine of the 1970s. A Concorde jet first flew to Australia in June, 1972, landing in Sydney.Credit: Trevor Dallen

It wasn’t entirely inconceivable.

Qantas had held options since the 1960s to buy four supersonic Concorde jets.

In 1970, the Australian airline laid down $600,000 for six Boeing 2707 jets, the United States’ idea of a competitor to Concorde.

It all came to nought. Concorde built only 20 planes, and British Airways and Air France snaffled the lot. The Boeing 2707 never got off the ground.

But in 1979, Albury-Wodonga’s Radio 2AY broke into its morning schedule with astounding news.

A popular disc jockey named Laurie Henry announced a........

© The Sydney Morning Herald