Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, The Near East and Africa, Volume VII

890F.796/6–2046

The Legation in Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabian Ministry for Foreign Affairs ¹⁸

confidential
No. 50

Jidda, May 29, 1946.

The Legation of the United States of America presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has the honor to refer to the Acting Foreign Minister’s Note No. 11/1/9/156, of January 2, 1946, in reply to this Legation’s Note No. 287, of December 20, 1945,¹⁹ concerning bilateral civil air rights and the use of the Dhahran airfield by American commercial aircraft.

The Transcontinental and Western Air Co. (TWA) has indicated its desire to begin air services from Cairo to Bombay via Dhahran beginning on June 17, 1946. For the time being, this route will be flown in direct line from Cairo to Dhahran over routes already approved by His Majesty’s Government for American military airplanes. The Ministry will recall that TWA is the aviation company chosen, insofar as the American Government is concerned, to operate air line travel in this area of the Middle East.

The Legation requests that the approval of His Majesty’s Government for TWA to fly this route will be notified to it at the earliest practicable date,²⁰ and takes this occasion to renew to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the assurances of its high consideration.

18. Copy transmitted to the Department in despatch 243, June 20, 1946, from Jidda; received July 2.
19. “Neither printed, but see bracketed notes, Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. viii, pp. 983 and 997.
20. The Ministry’s note No. 11/1/9/198 of June 14 agreed to the inauguration of TWA service at Dhahran but requested that TWA first send a representative to discuss the project and to conclude an operating agreement (890F.796/6–2046). An 8-point agreement was signed on July 4, 1946, by Amir Faisal and a TWA official, which authorized TWA to engage in transportation by air of persons, property, and mail between the United States and Dhahran, via intermediate points, for a period of 2 years (811.79690F/7–446). A further agreement, dated September 28, 1946, was entered into by the Saudi Arabian Government and TWA calling for creation of a Government-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines to be managed and operated by TWA for a period of 5 years. The airline was to provide air transport services within Saudi Arabia and between Saudi Arabia and other countries. The agreement was signed by Amir Mansour, the Minister of Defense, the following day. (890F.796/9–3046)