AIR SERVICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 July 1921, Page 5

AIR SERVICES.

THE EMPIRE SCHEME. A REPORT COMPLETED. FORECAST OF PROPOSALS. By Telegraph.—-Press Assn.-—-Copyright. Received July 27, 5.5 p.m. London, July 26. Replying to a question in the House of Commons, Mr. F. E. Guest (Air Minister) ; sahl the Imperial Conference comnutiee i appointed to consider the question of air- , ships had been ordered to report on: (1) j The costs of masts, bases of fuel-supply, I upkeep and operation of the existing airship fleet for the purposes of Imperial air ■ommunications, with special reference to ■ the routes between Britain, India, Africa, I Australia and New Zealand; (2) services ;by aeroplanes. The committee will report I also on proposals for the formation of • civil compapnies to operate airships. The | report was complete and was handed this iday to the Colonial Office. ! The Daily Chronicle forecasts the re- ‘ port of the committee on air communi- •; cations, which has been presented to i Mr. Winston Churchill. The paper say* | it would be too expensive an undertakI ing to maintain the present British airI ships for the purposes of an Imperial ! service Instead of scrapping them on August 1 as the Government propose*. The proposal to try them for an experimental period of six months at a cost of £280.000 is abandoned, becauee it has already been proved that Australasia and South Africa can be reached by air. and therefore experiments are unnecessary. Little good would be obtainable 1 from an Imperial air service unless it was run for longer than six months; a term of years would be required to prove if such a service would be commercially remunerative. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.