711.4127/7
The British Chargé ( Chilton ) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 23 (?).]
Sir: I have the honour to refer to your note of June the 14th on the subject of the proposed issuance on a reciprocal basis of licenses to air pilots in the United States and Great Britain. In his note No. 239 of May 7th, Sir Esme Howard stated that he understood that Section 64 of the United States Air Commerce Regulations provides that holders of private pilots’ licenses may be citizens of any country but that applicants for licenses as industrial or transport pilots must be citizens of the United States or of a foreign nation which grants reciprocal piloting privileges to citizens of this country on equal terms and conditions with its own nationals. Sir Esme Howard pointed out that no nationality qualification exists as far as any British pilot certificate is concerned and that citizens of the United States are therefore on an equal footing with British subjects in this matter. In the circumstances, therefore, all that would seem to be necessary to regularize the position is an official exchange of correspondence as suggested by the Director of Aeronautics, of the Department of Commerce, in the letter which he addressed on December 22nd last to the Air Attaché of His Majesty’s Embassy, and I have the honour to request that I may receive a note from the United States Government confirming my belief that British subjects are eligible to receive industrial and transport pilots’ licenses in this country.
The reciprocal issuance of airworthiness certificates in Great Britain and the United States, which was suggested in the letter from the Department of Commerce, quoted in your despatch under reference, would seem to be a question of a distinctly different character, and one which should be dealt with separately. The possibility of such an arrangement as between the United States Government and His Majesty’s Government in Australia was the subject of correspondence early this year between the State Department and His Majesty’s Embassy.4 It was finally referred to His Majesty’s Government in Australia through the Foreign Office and I shall not [Page 521] fail to inform you in due course of the views of the Commonwealth Government in this matter.
The question has not hitherto been raised as between the United States Government and His Majesty’s Government in Great Britain, but I shall be glad to take the matter up with my Government if the Department of Commerce desire to propose the conclusion of a separate arrangement of this nature. I should be glad to be informed of the views of the United States Government on this point in due course.
In the meantime I should be most grateful for an early reply on the subject of the issuance of pilots’ certificates, as cases have been brought to my notice of the refusal of such certificates to British subjects on account of alleged absence of reciprocity, when, in fact, according to both the American and British regulations, such reciprocity would seem to exist.
I have [etc.]
- Not printed.↩