AIR SERVICE.

Hokitika Guardian, 4 February 1920, Page 3

AIR SERVICE.

SERVICE AND COMMERCIAL. \by El.ectric Telegraph—Copyright.) f AUSTRALIAN ifc N.Z. CABIjE ASSOCIATION] A BITJTBB.] (Received this day at 11.25 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 2. Major-General Sykes delivered a lecture on Imperial air routes at the Geographical Society, before a large gather ing, including the Prince of Wales and official representatives of the Dominions. Sykes defined the routes as Egypt to India; Cairo to Cape; India to Australia ; England to Canada, and also England to West Indies via Azores. Sykes emphasised the necessity of keeping the first line of the fighting air force always on a war footing. Military aviation, however, was circumscribed on the ground of finance, while civil aviation must never ceasie to expand. Each should co-operate, onp for Imperial defence and the other as instrument for the development of Imperial trade, which could be used if necessary as a great aerial reserve. - Sykes hoped that before long, the air forces of the Empire would bo welded into one force co-ordinated by an Imperial Air Staff. He was of opinion that the principles of the service and civil aviation experiments applied equally to the Domnons and mother country. Sykes was of opinion that if the Empire air power, both service- -and civil, were developed and co-ordinated, our I air supremacy might in the future be more valuable in assisting to maintain the world’s peace than sea supremacy in the past.

Examining the routes, he said the Egvpto-Indinn held out many advantages, owing to the great saving in time which was possible compared with sea voyaging. Similarly Cairo, Baghdad and South Africa offered potentialities which it was impossible-to assess. The long seaboard of the two islands of New Zealand seemed chosen by nature for seaplanes. ‘ The practicability of Malta as an intermediate landing ground was now being considered. Sykes dwelt on the necessity of post office co-operation. Air mails were the real foundation of the whole system on which the Imperial routes must be based. In order to compete successfully in commerce ,aircraft must aim at completing the journey in one third of the time taken by other transports. LONDON, February 2. Major-General Sykes added that excluding Anglo-Australian flights, the machines of the principal firms between Mav Ist and December 31st of . last year flew 593,000 miles and carried . 64,000 passengers, with only sixteen accidents involving five deaths. He expressed the opinion that the future air policy of component parts of the Empire would be to keep in close touch , with England in matters of common poliev. Each of the dominions should have a small service and large ' civilian fleet, to meet its own strategic needs and the Empire air organisation should be able to concentrate quickly for its assistance m case of need- . , T The President, Sir Francis Younghushand, said that the Prince of Wales fcu-SH doing Empire work' of the greatest Importance. He had been successfully endeavouring to put various parts ot the Empire on good terms with each other. He had made himself a very precious Empire asset. He hoped the Prince would learn from the lecture something as to how he might, in the future, possibly go to Canada Aus t<lin and New Zealand, South Africa and other parts of the Empire to open Parliaments, to India to open Durbars.