Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, Volume I

800.796/6–2145

No. 548
The British Minister (Balfour) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Clayton)

Ref: 779/–/45
No. 312

Washington, 21st June 1945.

Sir, I have the honour to refer to your Note of April 18th¹ concerning the negotiations being conducted by the United States Government for landing rights for United States commercial air services in he Near and Middle East, and in reply to inform you, on the instructions of His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,² that His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom have no intention of opposing the United States Government or any other Government in the acquisition of landing rights for civil aircraft in any country. In negotiating with Governments for civil aviation landing rights, His Majesty’s Government are bound by the agreements reached at Chicago³ and would of course follow the practice there contemplated and they assume that the United States Government would propose to follow the same procedure.

2. It will be recalled that Article VIII Section 9 of the Interim Agreement on Civil Aviation⁴ provides that each member state may: (i) designate the route to be followed within its territory by any international air service and the airports which any such service may use, and (ii) impose on any such service just and reasonable charges for the use of such airports and other facilities; these charges not to be higher than would be paid for the use of such airports and facilities by its national aircraft engaged in similar international services. His Majesty’s Government conceive the intention of this article to be that each member state should provide, in its territory, the airfields required for international air services (with the right to apply to the Interim Council if it requires assistance) and that all states entitled to operate air services to, or through, such states, would use the national airfields designated by the member states.

I have the honour [etc.]

John Balfour

1. Not printed. Cf. document No. 547.
2. Anthony Eden.
3. The reference is to the International Air Services Transit Agreement (the so-called “two freedoms” agreement), which the United States and the United Kingdom, inter alia, signed at Chicago, December 7, 1944, and which entered into force as between the United States and the United Kingdom on May 31, 1945 (Executive Agreement Series No. 487; 59 Stat. (2) 1693).
4. Signed by the United States and the United Kingdom, inter alia, at Chicago on December 7, 1944; entered into force, June 6, 1945 (Executive Agreement Series No. 469; 59 Stat. (2) 1516).