711.5627/54a
The Secretary of State to the Netherlands Chargé (Van Hoorn)
Sir: Reference is made to the negotiations which have taken place between the Department of State and the Netherland Legation for the conclusion of a reciprocal Air Navigation Arrangement between the United States of America and the Netherlands.
It is my understanding that it has been agreed in the course of the negotiations that this arrangement shall be as follows:
Article 1.
For the purpose of the present arrangement (a) the term ‘territory’ shall be understood to mean the United States of America, the Netherlands and likewise possessions, territories, and colonies over which they respectively exercise jurisdiction, including territory over sea and territorial waters; and (b) the term ‘aircraft’ shall be understood to embrace private aircraft and commercial aircraft including state aircraft used exclusively for commercial purposes.
Article 2.
(1) Each of the Parties to this arrangement undertakes in time of peace to grant liberty of innocent passage above its territory to the aircraft of the other Party, provided that the conditions set forth in the present arrangement are observed.
(2) It is, however, agreed that the establishment and operation of regular air routes by an air transport company of one of the Parties within the territory of the other Party or across the said territory, with or without intermediary landing, shall be subject to the prior consent of the other Party given on condition of reciprocity and at the request of the Party whose nationality the air transport company possesses.
(3) Each Party to this arrangement agrees that its consent for operations over its territory by air transport companies of the other Party may not be refused on unreasonable or arbitrary grounds. The consent can be made subject to special regulations relating to aerial safety and public order.
(4) Each of the Parties to this arrangement may reserve to its own aircraft, air commerce between any two points neither of which is in a foreign country. Each Party may also reserve to its own aircraft pleasure or touring flights starting from an aerodrome in its territory and returning to the same aerodrome, for which a transportation charge would be made.
Nevertheless the aircraft of either Party may proceed from any aerodrome in the territory of the other Party which they are entitled [Page 493] to use to any other such aerodrome either for the purpose of landing the whole or part of their cargoes or passengers or of taking on board the whole or part of their cargoes or passengers, provided that such cargoes are covered by through bills of lading and such passengers hold through tickets issued respectively for a journey whose starting place and destination both are not points between which air commerce has been duly so reserved, and such aircraft, while proceeding as aforesaid, from one aerodrome to another, shall, notwithstanding that such aerodromes are points between which air commerce has been duly reserved, enjoy all the privileges of this arrangement.
Article 3.
Each of the Parties reserves the right to require that all aircraft crossing the frontiers of its territory shall do so between certain points. Subject to the notification of any such requirements by one Party to the other Party, and to the right to prohibit air traffic over certain areas as stipulated in Article 4, the frontiers of the territories of the Parties to this arrangement may be crossed at any point.
Article 4.
(1) Each of the Parties to this arrangement reserves the right to forbid flights over certain areas of its territory, which are or may hereafter be designated as prohibited areas.
(2) Besides, in exceptional circumstances, each of the Parties shall have the right to restrict or to forbid flights over the whole or over parts of its territory on condition that in this respect no distinction shall be made between the aircraft of the other Party and the aircraft of any other foreign country.
(3) The restrictions and prohibitions mentioned in this Article will be notified by each of the Parties to the other Party.
Article 5.
(1) Any aircraft which finds itself over a prohibited area shall, as soon as it is aware of the fact, give the signal of distress prescribed in the rules of the air in force in the territory flown over and shall land as soon as possible at the nearest airport open to public use in such territory outside of the prohibited zone, provided, however, that if there has not been compliance with customs, immigration or quarantine requirements in connection with the entry of the aircraft, the commander of the aircraft shall take prompt measures to meet those requirements as contemplated by paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article 6.
(2) Such aircraft must land under the same conditions and in the same manner upon being notified by the subjacent country in accordance with the prescribed signals of that country that it is flying over a prohibited area.
Article 6.
(1) Aerodromes open to public air traffic in the territory of one of the Parties to this arrangement shall in so far as they are under the control of the Party in whose territory they are situated be open [Page 494] to all aircraft of the other Party, which shall also be entitled to the assistance of the meteorological services, the wireless services, the lighting services, and the day and night signaling services, in so far as the several classes of services are under the control of the Party in whose territory they respectively are rendered. Any scale of charges made, namely, landing, accommodation or other charge, with respect to the aircraft of each Party in the territory of the other Party, shall in so far as such charges are under the control of the Party in whose territory they are made be the same for the aircraft of both Parties.
(2) All aircraft entering or leaving the territory of either Party shall land at or depart from an aerodrome open to public air traffic and classed as a customs aerodrome at which facilities exist for enforcement of immigration regulations and clearance of aircraft, and no intermediary landing shall be effected between the frontier and the aerodrome. In special cases the competent authorities may allow aircraft to land at or depart from other aerodromes at which customs, immigration and clearance facilities have been arranged. The prohibition of any intermediary landing applies also in such cases.
(3) In the event of a forced landing outside the aerodromes referred to in the second paragraph of this article, the pilot of the aircraft, its crew and the passengers shall conform to the customs and immigration regulations in force in the territory in which the landing has been made.
(4) Aircraft of each Party to this arrangement are accorded the right to enter the territory of the other Party subject to compliance with quarantine regulations in force therein.
(5) The Parties to this arrangement shall exchange lists of the aerodromes in their territory designated by them as ports of entry and departure.
Article 7.
(1) The Aircraft shall bear the registration marks allocated by the competent authority of the country whose nationality they possess, as well as any other marks that may be required by the air regulations of the country whose nationality they possess.
(2) The aircraft shall be provided with certificates of registration and of airworthiness issued or rendered valid by the country whose nationality they possess, and they must carry aircraft, engine and journey log books.
(3) The pilots shall be provided with a license issued or rendered valid by the country whose nationality the aircraft possess.
(4) The other members of the crew of the aircraft, that is, all persons on board with the exception of passengers, must carry documents showing their duties on board the aircraft, their profession, identity and their nationality. In so far as they perform in the aircraft duties for which a special license is required by the country whose nationality the aircraft possesses they shall be provided with the licenses issued or rendered valid by that country.
(5) The certificate of airworthiness, certificates of competency and licenses issued or rendered valid by one of the Parties to this arrangement [Page 495] in respect of an aircraft registered in its territory or of the crew of such aircraft shall have, as long as the aircraft shall possess the nationality of that Party, the same validity in the territory of the other Party as the corresponding documents issued or rendered valid by the latter.
(6) Each of the Parties reserves the right to refuse to recognize for the purpose of flights within the limits of and above its territory, licenses issued by the other Party to nationals of the former Party.
Article 8.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 7, and unless otherwise agreed, the crew and passengers shall be provided with the documents required for international traffic by the country flown over.
Article 9.
(1) No apparatus for wireless communications whatsoever shall be carried without a special license issued by the country whose nationality the aircraft possesses. The use of such apparatus above the territory of each of the Parties to this arrangement shall be in accordance with the regulations on the subject issued by the competent authority of the territory within whose air space the aircraft is navigating. Besides, such apparatus shall be used only by such members of the crew as are in possession of a special license issued for the purpose by the competent authority of the country whose nationality the aircraft possesses.
(2) The Parties to this arrangement reserve respectively the right, for reasons of safety, to issue regulations relative to the obligatory equipment of aircraft with wireless apparatus.
Article 10.
(1) No explosives, firearms, munitions of war, carrier pigeons nor photographic or cinematographic apparatus shall be carried by aircraft of the nationality of either country within the limits of the territory of the other country without a license or permit issued by the competent authority of the latter country. Explosives and apparatus for the maintenance and operation of the aircraft are not subject to this provision.
(2) As a measure of public safety or because of lawful prohibitions, each of the Parties to this arrangement may impose with respect to flights over its territory, restrictions in addition to those enumerated in the foregoing paragraph of this article on condition that in this respect no distinction shall be made between the aircraft of the other Party employed in international traffic and national aircraft or the aircraft of any third country so employed. Each Party shall notify the other Party of any such restrictions that may be imposed by the former.
Article 11.
Upon departure and upon landing of aircraft the competent authorities of each of the Parties to this arrangement shall within its [Page 496] own territory have in all cases the right to examine the aircraft of the other Party and verify the prescribed certificates and documents.
Article 12.
No ballast, other than fine sand or water, shall be dropped from an aircraft in flight.
Article 13.
No discharge or dropping of objects other than ballast in the course of flight, shall take place unless by special permission of the country on whose territory the discharging or dropping takes place.
Article 14.
(1) The aircraft of each of the Parties to this arrangement, their crews and passengers, shall while within the territory of the other Party, be subject to the general legislation in force in that territory, as well as the regulations in force therein relating to air traffic in general, to customs and other duties, to prohibitions of exportation or importation, to the transport of passengers and goods and to public safety and order in so far as these regulations apply to all foreign aircraft, their crews and passengers.
(2) Each of the Parties to this arrangement shall permit the import or export of all merchandise which may be legally imported or exported and also the carriage of passengers subject to any customs, immigration and quarantine restrictions, into or from their respective territories in the aircraft of the other Party, and such aircraft, their passengers and cargoes, shall enjoy the same privileges as and shall not be subjected to any other or higher duties or charges than those which the aircraft of the country imposing such duties or charges, engaged in international commerce, and their cargoes and passengers, or the aircraft of any foreign country likewise engaged, and their cargoes and passengers, enjoy or are subjected to.
Article 15.
The Parties to this arrangement shall communicate to each other the regulations relative to air traffic in force in their respective territories.
Article 16.
The present arrangement shall become operative thirty days from the day when the ratification thereof by the Queen of the Netherlands shall be notified to the Government of the United States of America, and shall continue in force until 60 days after notice of its termination shall have been given by either Party to the other Party.”
I shall be glad to have you inform me whether it is the understanding of the Government of the Netherlands that the arrangement agreed to in the negotiations is as herein set forth. If you find that the arrangement as herein set forth is as agreed upon in the [Page 497] negotiations between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Netherlands, it will be understood that, as stipulated in Article 16, the arrangement will become operative thirty days from the day when the ratification thereof by the Queen of the Netherlands shall be officially notified to the Government of the United States.
Accept [etc.]