July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Britain's Douglas DC-3 aircraft survived World War II and the Berlin Airlift. They won't survive the European Union.

The EU introduces rules tomorrow that require planes used for commercial passenger flights, even vintage models, to incorporate safety features found on modern Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS aircraft. The regulations will take passengers out of the U.K.'s last three DC-3s, which have carried tens of thousands of aviation enthusiasts since exiting military service in the early 1970s.

``It's bureaucracy gone mad,'' said Trevor Cherrington, 49, a civil servant who paid 90 pounds ($179) for one of the 64-year- old planes' last joyrides. ``If they've been flying this many years, how have they suddenly become dangerous?''

The DC-3s, known also as Dakotas, are operated by Air Atlantique Classic Flight Ltd. The model of aircraft, which during World War II filled the skies over southeastern England as they ferried soldiers across the channel, became a symbol of the Allied armed forces and featured in the television series ``Band of Brothers'' and movie ``A Bridge Too Far.''

``It's really about keeping these aircraft living and flying for people to see and not putting them in museums to become, as we call it, stuffed birds,'' said Richard Parr, Coventry, England-based Air Atlantique's commercial director.

The company, the U.K.'s largest operator of vintage aircraft, flew about 9,000 passengers on the DC-3s as part of a ``Goodbye Dakotas'' tour between April 19 and today.

`Pink Lady'

The new rules, EU-OPS, require weather radar, oxygen masks and escape chutes in all passenger aircraft. Air Atlantique says these aren't needed on aircraft that only fly in clear weather, at altitudes low enough to breathe, and with exits about four feet off the ground.

Elsewhere in Europe, vintage-plane operators face the same rules. In France, the ``Pink Lady'' B-17 may be grounded next year amid rising insurance costs, according to the Association Forteresse Toujours Volante, a group for vintage-plane enthusiasts. The Dutch Dakota Association, based in Amsterdam, plans to adapt its two DC-3s to comply with the regulations.

Three years ago, England's last B-17 Flying Fortress was grounded after EU rules meant the aircraft fell into a more expensive insurance category. The Sally B, which appeared in the film ``Memphis Belle,'' was classified in the same insurance group as a small airliner -- resulting in an extra 1,000-pound-a- day insurance premium.

Paratrooper Transport

``If you're going to put more safety features in, technically you're going to have a safer aeroplane,'' Parr said. ``But that's to imply that they're not safe in the first place, and we've been operating perfectly safely.''

The twin-propeller Dakotas, first built by Douglas Aircraft Co. in 1935, have a maximum altitude of 20,800 feet and top speed of 192 miles an hour, about 30 percent slower than the world's fastest car. In Europe, the model became famous for carrying paratroopers to France from England on D-Day, in 1944, and dropping supplies during the Berlin Airlift, in 1948 and 1949.

``After the war, DC-3s were the backbone of airlines around the world,'' said historian Henry Holden, the author of two books on the aircraft. ``It is an easy airplane to fly, `forgives' many pilot errors, and its reputation has been passed down from generation to generation.''

Fuel costs and soaring commodity prices are also making the upkeep of vintage aircraft more difficult, Parr said. Air Atlantique's DC-6, on display at the Farnborough International Air Show, takes 11,000 liters (2,905 gallons) of aviation fuel.

Canvas, Wood

Simply keeping the Dakotas in condition for aerial displays or film work will cost as much as 100,000 pounds an aircraft a year, Parr said.

The U.K.'s aviation regulator says it may be able to get an exemption from the European Union for vintage aircraft-operators like Air Atlantique if they're willing to make some of the required modifications.

The European Commission, the 27-nation EU's regulatory arm in Brussels, says exemptions from the legislation are possible.

``From a business point of view, we can't invest in the aircraft without knowing for sure whether they'll be able to fly or not,'' Parr said.

Douglas, bought by McDonnell Aircraft Corp. in 1967 and merged with Boeing 30 years later, built about 10,600 DC-3s between 1935 and 1945. About 500 are operating, said Parr, most flying freight in South America, Africa and Asia.

``They've been such a wonderful transport aircraft,'' said Teresa Davidson, a 64-year-old retiree as she waited for her husband and son to return from a Dakota flight. ``I think it is a pity because there will always be a demand for them.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Alloway in London at talloway@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 14, 2008 19:06 EDT