IOR/L/PS/12/1981

The file contains correspondence and notes on the subject of private (or chartered) flights through the Persian Gulf states in special treaty relations with the British Government, these states being: Bahrain, Kuwait (also spelt Koweit), Muscat (Oman), and Sharjah. Prior to 1946, the correspondence is concerned with the British policy of maintaining a strict prohibition on flights by private aviators and on chartered flights by airlines. From 1946 onwards, the correspondence is more concerned with facilitating private and chartered flights through the aforementioned states; British restrictions on private aviation had to be lifted once Britain became a signatory of the Chicago Convention (1944).

Specific measures covered in the file include: British efforts to convince the rulers of Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat, to delegate to them the authority to refuse private aviators access to these territories; a subsequent effort to obtain, from the Shaikh of Bahrain, permission to grant access to Bahrain to private flights; and measures taken to notify aviators of the restrictions in place (prior to 1946) on private flights through the Arabian Coast Route.

Another topic covered in the file is the introduction of sanctions for breaches of the Air Navigation Regulations for Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat. The sanctions were specifically aimed at deterring private aviators from using the Arabian Coast Air Route without prior authorisation. The file therefore includes copies of draft notices of the introduction of King's Regulations in 1936 under the Kuwait Order in Council (folio 374, final edition on folio 364), the Bahrain Order in Council (folio 375), and the Muscat Order in Council (folio 376). It also includes a draft notification of regulations to be introduced by the Sultan of Muscat and Oman (folio 373).

Copies of a number of orders in council have been included in the file:

• The Kuwait Order in Council (1935): see folios 399-414
• The Bahrain Order in Council (1913): see folios 415-427
• The Muscat Order in Council (1915): see folios 428-441

The details of a number of flights, or proposed flights, made by private aviators are recorded within the file, either as a result of an unauthorised landing or a proposal to fly through Arabia. This includes the following: the landing of Maurice Wilson at Bahrain in 1933, the landing of Mr de Montaigu at Bahrain in 1934, the landing of Francis William Rickett at Sharjah in 1937, a proposed round the world flight by Amelia Earhart in 1937, and a proposed circular flight round the Persian Gulf by Hassan Anis Pasha in 1938. From 1946 references to private flights become much more common, and the details supplied much more brief. However, basic itineraries of proposed flights (including details such as dates, times, and stopping points) can still be found within the file.

The French language content of the file consists of a small amount of correspondence received from the French Embassy in London, and a single letter from the Belgian Embassy, also in London.

The main correspondents in the file are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Agent at Kuwait, and the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat. There is also correspondence with officials of the following departments: the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office (the Commonwealth Relations Office from August 1947), the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India (External Affairs Department from 1937), and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It also includes correspondence with British representatives from around the world, a few letters from various oil companies, and diplomatic representations from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United States.

There is no correspondence in the file for the years 1939-45.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.