CIVIL AVIATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23529, 18 June 1938, Page 32

CIVIL AVIATION

BRITAIN EXTENDS SUBSIDY IMPROVEMENT ON EMPIRE SERVICES 'From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON. May 21. The British Government’s proposals for extending the subsidy to civil aviation was expounded to the House of Commons by Sir Kingsley Wood, the new Minister for Air, this week. The extensions are the result of the recommendations of the Cadman Committee, which pointed out that the maximum sum of £1.500,000 a year was wholly inadequate for new developments and competition with foreign aviation. The measure, said Sir Kingsley, provided for an increase in the aggregate sum provided by the State for the development of civil air transport, and its general effect was to increase from £1,500,000 to £3,000,000 the maximum sums which might be paid in any financial year under agreements for subsidising air transport made by the Secretary of State for Air. He hoped that in this way a fresh chapter in the history of civil aviation might begin. Everywhere and by all countries aviation was subsidised to-day, and there <vas no doubt, whatever method they might have in mind for dealing with it. that more money was needed if

Britain was to occupy its proper position in relation to this important matter. EMPIRE ROUTES The additional financial assistance to be given on the routes outside Europe would be approximately £1,000,000, and the greater part of this sum would be concentrated on Empire routes. They desired particularly to make a general improvement on the Empire services by speeding up the provision of additional services, and, he hoped, improved aircraft, in conjunction with the companies of the dominions by extra services to Canada and by the development of the Australia-New Zealand services. The Government had been discussing this with the respective Governments, and they hoped to lake the matter further in discussion with the Australian Ministers and with the representatives of the New Zealand Government. There was also the transpacific project and the West Indies and other connecting services with the Empire, and also the local services in the island itself. Another object to which that money was to be devoted was the necessity in the interests of British civil aviation and national prestige that a first-class service should be established between London and the principal capitals of Europe, and they proposed to devote some £400,000 to those services. Daily British services were already in operation to Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen. and Stockholm, with a daily summer service to Basle; and Rome was already served by the Empire route. But it was now planned to

establish daily services additionally to Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Oslo, and Lisbon, and to establish an all-the-year-round service to Switzerland. By these means few of the capitals of Europe would be outside the projected network, and he hoped they would be able to extend that even further still. In order to accomplish the matters he had mentioned they would have to enter into a number of commercial and international agreements, and this must obviously take time, but it. was the desire of the Government that British aircraft should be utilised 100 per cent, for this purpose, as, indeed, on every route flown by British operators. British aircraft were not yet fully available for these purposes, but a promising type of medium all-metal air liner was now under construction and would be on the market in the early part of next year.