§ 50. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Secretary of State for Air whether any difficulty has arisen with the Persian Government regarding the rights of British aircraft to fly over Persian territory on the Cairo-to-Karachi air route; how these difficulties have arisen; whether an agreement was entered into with the Persian Government before the flight was inaugurated; and what steps are being taken to remove the difficulties?
The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. LockerLampson)The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, the difficulties were due to a recent and sudden reversal of policy by the Persian Government who decided not to allow an international airway along the southern coast of Persia. A written agreement which, had it entered into force, would have secured the opening of this route to international traffic, had in fact been signed by the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs and His Majesty's Minister at Tehran, on behalf of Imperial Airways Limited, in September to October, 1925. Further negotiations with the Persian Government on the subject are now in progress.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIs it not a fact that the difficulty has arisen owing to our forbidding Persian aero-planes to fly to Bagdad, or aeroplanes belonging to a Persian company.