§ Commander BELLAIRSasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what steps have been taken to carry out the Report of the 1927 Committee on Civil Air Transport in the West Indies and British Guiana; what steps are still in contemplation; and whether any foreign enterprise is functioning there or in British Honduras?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEThe Report to which the hon. and gallant Member294W refers dealt only with the question of opportunities for civil aviation in the West Indies and it rested with private enterprise to come forward with proposals for making use of such opportunities as the Committee considered to exist. Certain proposals to this end have been made but have not matured owing to financial difficulties. My Noble Friend is anxious to further the establishment of British civil air services in this region by all possible means, so far as financial limitations permit. As regards the action taken for this purpose by the Air Ministry, I would refer to my remarks during the course of the Air Estimates Debate on the 18th March [FOFFICIAL REPORT, Columns 1999 and 2022–3]. The answer to the last part of the question is in the affirmative; the American aircraft in question traverse the West Indies and British Guiana in the course of air services between the United States and South America, and one of the companies operates also over British Honduras.