RIGHT OF THE AIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 69, 23 March 1937, Page 9

RIGHT OF THE AIR.

INTERNATIONAL LAW.

ORGANISATION OF SERVICES.' EMPIRE MAIL SCHEME. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, this day. By the last air mail from England came the full report of a lecture on the organisation of Empire mail services by Mr. D. H. Handover, a member of the Institute of Transport and traffic manager of Imperial Airways. This shows the interesting state of international law covering the operations of long-distance air services, indicates that a good working understanaing has been evolved with the steamship companies for interchanges by passengers requiring the two forms of transport for a complete journey, and gives further information regarding the Empire air mail scheme.'

A long-distance flight such as that now being made by the Pan-American Clipper across the Pacilic and back to the United States has involved consideration of international law relating to the rights of such aeroplanes. Mr. Handover stated that it was first set out m the Aerial Navigation Act of 1910, the preamble of which ran: "The air above all patrs of His Majesty's Dominions and the territorial waters adjacent thereto are inviolable." That, he added, was analagous to the common law doctrine that the possessor of the land owns the air above him to infinity, as well as the soil beneath it. Since then, however, the needs of aviation services traversing the air above many countries had led to conventions tacitly admitting the principle of freedom and equality of status. Nevertheless, the application of this principle to anything but an individual aeroplane was held to be limited, and so far as regular air services were concerned, the opposite legal principle applied, namely, complete sovereignty of the air. In short, any State had the right to refuse permission for the establishment of a regular air service over its territory without necessarily giving any reason for that step.

"Permission to traverse or land in countries," continued the lecturer, "is sometimes used as a bargaining point and as a lever to force concessions of other kinds from a reluctant State desirous of free passage. Sometimes this takes the form of a financial payment in a similar fashion to a toll or way-leave, and at others a pool with another company is insisted upon."

Co-operation With Shipowners. Time is always an important factor and is worth money, but, stated Mr. Handover, a passenger might not be able to afford the more expensive air transport for the whole of a long journey. It is in such instances, he continued, that the intelligent use of different methods of transport, either in one direction or sectionally, can solve the passenger's problem, subject to arrangements being made between the organisations operating the different methods of transport.

"I am happy to say that Imperial Airways has been able to reach reciprocal arrangements with a number of steamship companies, and as a result their passengers and our passengers, travelling one way by sea and the other way by air, still obtain the benefit of certain rebates to which they would normally be entitled only if they had restricted their journey entirely to one or the other method of transport.

"It is now common knowledge that His Majesty's Government has decided that, beginning in 1937, all letter mail intended for British destinations along the Empire routes shall, wherever practicable, be carried by air at no extra charge to the sender. The magnitude of the carriage contemplated may be judged from the estimated mail. Actually the tonnage leaving England each week will be about 20, which to the shipping man may appear insignificant. When considered for air transport the perspective alters. Anyhow, it amounts to nearly 2,000.000 letters a week from England alone."

■ "The normal weekly services visualised in each direction are:—LondonSydney, two; London-Singapore, three; London-Calcutta, five; London-Egypt, nine; London-Kisumu, three; and Lon-don-Durban, two. with provision for connections to China and West Africa. At such periods of heavy mail traffic as Christmas. Mr. Handover stated that probably seven services per week would run to Australia for four weeks. Advantages of Flying Boats. Discussing the suitable types of aircraft for various services, Mr. Handover stated that a strong argument for the use of flying boats, particularly on the Eastern and East African services, was the limitation imposed on the increase in size of land aircraft by the capability of the surface of land aeroplanes to bear their weight. "Bogging of pre-sent-day aeroplanes of comparatively light weight is not an infrequent occurrence at a number of aerodromes on the Empire routes, and it is considered that regular operation of aeroplanes of the considerably greater weight necessitated by future development is a doubtful proposition without excessive expenditure on aerodrome construction and maintenance.

"There are other advantages in using flying boats in certain circumstances — particularly if a coastal route can be followed—such as the improved performance and take-off at sea level compared with that at high altitude aerodromes. In general, also, fuel supplies at the seaboard are considerably cheaper than at inland aerodromes."