IOR/R/15/2/505-537

The confidential aviation subject files cover a range of topics related to the operation and maintenance by the British authorities of civil air operations in the Persian Gulf, concentrating chiefly on the Arab coast of the Gulf, and the aerodromes at Muharraq Island in Bahrain, and Sharjah, as well as the flying boat landing site off the coast of Manama in Bahrain:

• The operation and maintenance of civil air services operated by Imperial Airways until 1939, and the British Overseas Airways Corporation thereafter;
• Negotiations for the agreement and implementation of civil air agreements with the Sheikh and Government of Bahrain, and Sheikhs of Kuwait and Sharjah, with a frequent emphasis on whether duty should be exempted for aviation fuel, the rent of land for aerodromes, landing fees, costs of security personnel for aerodromes;
• Requests from numerous foreign air operations, including Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappih (KLM), Air France, Cyprus Airways, Pan-American, Transcontinental and Western Airlines, Iraqi Airlines, to fly over the Arab coast of the Gulf, and/or land and use facilities at Muharraq aerodrome;
• The use of civil aerodromes for military purposes during the Second World War, chiefly the United States’ request to use British air facilities, and US plans to construct their own aerodrome at Dhahran;
• Proposals and discussion of an increase in regular civil air services through the Gulf in the years immediately following the Second World War, and the difficulties encountered in maintaining civil air operations after the war, with particular reference to the unsuitable nature of the Muharraq aerodrome for landing newer, heavier aircraft, and the sharing of RAF and civil air facilities at Bahrain and at Sharjah;
• Increasing numbers of private flights landing at Bahrain, and issues arising from a lack of administrative facilities and accommodation for checking visas, passports, and enforcing quarantine measures.