Coll 5/87S ‘United States: Request for Military Air Transit Rights in India and Burma’ [‎173r] (345/609)

879.6
TH2 FOPS ION SEW IG S OF TKP
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
OFFICE CF THE OOMISSI NEP
New Delhi, May 28, 1946.
Dear Hugh;
.Thrnk y u f r y >ur pr mptness in sending me the Aide
Mem. ire of May 25th discussing aviation, the substance of
which I have telegraphed to Washington.
According to a telegram I received from Major General
Evans on May 23rd, be had olr cdy mfonned th hr Depart
ment of the dovernmant of Indi th, t his Headquarters would
relinquish aptr ti nai coatr 1 of the Karachi £.ir field
immediately rnd hr.d requested advice as t wh^ch agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. of
thf dovemment of Indi would take over tius contr 1 end as
t the earliest date th t the transfer could be effected.
On April 27, 1946, pr±or to his dep* rture f r he
PICAl meeting in Montreal, I had an opportunity to d iscuss
inform lly v/ith the Director General of Civil Aviation in
India, Sir Frederick Tymns, the question f aviati n rela-
ti ns between ur dovemments. Sir Frederick expressed
the opini n th t m A ir transport Agre ement coulc n t be
conducted f r some time 1 th ugh its c nclusi n ne b n t
necesrarily a ait his return to India, ab ut “uly 1st. In
view of the probable del y, I esked whether it would not
be possible for the Fan American Airways &nd Trsns Dforid
Airways to uiaugurate services to India under some kind
:f a provisi nai arrangement. Sir Frederick replied that
m his opinion this sh uld be possible after the United
States d vernment had returned to the d vernmrnt of India
the airport at Karachi. In reply to a further question
5 ‘ Lr u^f eaer ' L i^ : e d th: t such an interim arrangement should
be between the two de vernments ana not between the men can
c mpanie s and the devemnent of India. I asked whether
he could suggest wh; t sh uld be covered m such an interim
arn ngrmemt and whether the dovernment f India could propose
o draft. In reply ha stated tk t the proposal sh uld come
ir m the dovemment of the United States which has had
experience in neg ti ting similar interim arrangements ith
xl x r ^ overnc:lt; ?^ s ^d/the pr posal might simply request
that f or an interim pen .u the Government of India grant
PAA end TEA the right to send to India weekly tv/,, planes each
Although this conversation was f an inf rrng.l nature,
I, of c urse^ c mmumested its substtnee t o ray dovernment
ior its -nform- ti n cna guidance. In reply I was informed
tha t T/A pr oably would be ±n i position t inaugurate a
service to India on June 1st of t_m frequency r v/cek to be
increased to two freqiiencies a week about August 15, 1946;
rule PAA expects t* be ready by July 1, 1946, to inaugurate
& service to India of two frequencies a week.
.4-^^ £L X T„x*l x_« '• t V m ,7 c ^
Later J vrea infoimed by thf Dop&rtment of State at