HC Deb 24 May 1939 vol 347 cc2280-1
26. Mr. Perkins

asked the Secretary of State for Air the cause of the postponement of the North Atlantic air service?

Captain Balfour

The commencement of the North Atlantic service has been postponed for a number of reasons. Engines and airscrews could not be installed in the S.30 boats by the required date owing to the necessity for improving engine cooling on the Perseus XIIc type which are installed for the first time in this type of aircraft. The operating company are now anxious, before the in- auguration of the service, thoroughly to test out these engines by a 400 hours' flight test, an arrangement with which my right hon. Friend is in agreement but which, it will be appreciated, must take a considerable and indeterminate time dependent upon weather and other conditions. The practical tests which have been carried out with flight-refuelling have also revealed an uneven filling of tanks and the need for alteration in the fuel-jettisoning system in the interests of safety. I regret the necessity for the postponement of the commencement of this service but my hon. Friend will no doubt appreciate the desirability of the postponement in the interests of eventual operational safety and efficiency. The previous programme of which the House was informed was necessarily provisional and must now be modified but I am hopeful that the service may commence in July.

Mr. Perkins

Can the hon. and gallant Gentleman tell us whether the American service has started?

Captain Balfour

The Pan-American Airways boat reached Southampton yesterday, and I am informed that it left to-day at 10.13, and is due to reach the United States on Saturday next.