INTRODUCTION Air Communications in the Persian Gulf. (Communicated by the British Air Ministry.) The necessity for an organised air route for British aircraft, both Service and Civil, to connect Egypt and Iraq with India, has long been realised; and the negotiations and technical preparations necessary to this end have been proceeding ever since the end of the Great War, though not without numerous difficulties and delays. It is practicable to organise an air route along either shore of the Gulf. The route along the Persian shore is the better, since the Arabian shore route includes an oversea flight of some 226 miles. The latter route also entails the use of landing grounds on the Hasa and Trucial coasts, and on this account, under the conditions obtaining at the present time, would afford less security for passengers and aircraft than the Persian route. These conditions, however, may be expected to improve. Though the Persian route is the better for a regular civil passenger air service, the Arabian shore route, whether ultimately used as a civil air route or not, is required as a strategic air route for Service aircraft which might be unable by reason of Persian neutrality to use the Persian route. The history of the development of these two routes is related in the following paragraphs. The Air Route along the Persian Shore. Flights along the route. The first flight between Iraq and India along this route took place in December 1918, and was carried out by a Service aircraft of the Royal Air Force. The Persian Government had at that time little control of their coast line, and the question of obtaining permission for the flight did not then arise. The landing grounds which were required for this flight, were prepared by Royal Air Force personnel, and are those which have been used up to the present time (1928). This route was followed in 1919 by the pioneer long-distance flights to the East, and in 1920 a Flight of Royal Air Force aircraft from Iraq was based at Bushire to assist the British Resident in the maintenance of order. This Flight was withdrawn in the autumn of 1921 when it became necessary to concentrate all available aircraft in Iraq. Since that date the air route along the Persian shore has been used at irregular intervals by both British and foreign aircraft. Several flights have been carried out by Service aircraft of the Royal Air Force, but most of the flights have been by civil aircraft. The Association of the Government of India with the route. The following extracts from the memorandum by the Indian Air Board, prepared in 1926, entitled “The Past History and Future Development of Civil Aviation in India”, describe the association of the Indian Government with the Persian route along the Gulf:— “The question of linking India with the outer world by a line of air communications was first raised in June 1919, when a scheme was put forward by the Air Ministry for the establishment of an air service between Cairo and Karachi. The objects of this scheme were mainly military, though the carriage of mails was also contemplated. The Government of India supported the proposals, and, on the understanding that a weekly service would be instituted, agreed to provide and maintain the necessary aerodromes and buildings from Karachi to Bushire, at an estimated cost of Rs. 13¼ lakhs initial and Rs. 36,000 recurring. The British Government were to be responsible for providing the necessary machines, the pay and maintenance of the unit, the cost of flying and any other liabilities. It was considered at the time that Karachi must eventually be the aerial gateway of India, and it was realised that, even should the proposed service not be a success, Government would have a permanent asset in
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