POST-WAR CIVIL AVIATION

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 15, 13 October 1943, Page 4

POST-WAR CIVIL AVIATION

The conference pending in London on preliminary Empire discussions on world civil aviation involves questions of special importance to this Dominion. It is admitted that immediately this gi eat struggle is over there will be developments in the form of air transport or an unprecedented nature. The wartime needs of the nations have compelled them to build up huge aircraft industries, and in Great Britain’today, as Sir Stafford Cripps, Minister of Aircraft Production, stated during a recent visit to Northern Ireland, ‘the industi y is at present the largest single employer of labour in the countiy, wit i something between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 people on its pay-rol . In both Russia and the United States similar expansion has been made, and the enemy countries have their own great establishments. . It is feared that, unless there is some international agreement with respect to aviation services, friction will be caused. Not long ago the House of Commons devoted a full day's debate to the problems of air transport, and the course that seemed to be generally favoured was that the British Government should plan its internal policy, and then seek to reach an agreement as to post-war policy with the Dominions. The third stage would then be to negotiate agreements with all the Allied Nations. It was recognized that there would sooner or later have to be an international system of control, or supervision, at least with respect to the wireless and meteorological services and the use of airports. ■ Commenting' on the subject recently a leading London trade journal said: “It must surely be obvious to even the least air-minded person that the policy of the ‘closed sky, whereby each nation claimed possession of the sky space above its terntoiy, has been made as out of date by recent technical developments in aviation as the hansom cab has been by the modern motor-car. And it is difficult to see how European services could observe the laws or requirements of individual nations with national frontiers eveiy few-hundred miles or less apart. The coming conference will have many and important issues before it, and there can be no question as to the advisability of the geographically scattered British Empire devising a policy mutually satisfactory to the various self-governing Dominions and the Mother Country. It cannot be said that the British. authorities have yet made any very definite statements, but just as their decisions would directly influence that of the outlying parts of the Empire so the considered views of the overseas units may affect the plans favoured at Westminster. What is certain is that all sections of the British Empire desire that after the war aviation, which has been such a tremendous instrument of destruction in the struggle, shall be made to. serve the cause of international friendship, communication and possibly trade. To any global scheme this country may be able to make only a. comparatively small contribution, but it would stand to benefit immediately. Just to what extent this is the case has been shown by the overseas services established in pre-war years, and they marked only the beginning. '