PA
57
GR 1600
CYPHER CAT A
FM TOKYO 100541Z
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
4KK 184 3.
15 NOV
TO ROUTINE FCO TELNO 803 OF 19 NOVEMBER, 1977
RPTD TO HONG KONG (FOR GOVERNOR AND BCARFE) WASHINGTON.-
UK/JAPAN AIR SERVICES
$
-1. IN THE COURSE OF HIS DISCUSSIONS WITH YAMAJI ON 8 AND 8 NOVEMBER ROGERS TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE SOME POINTS OF BILATERAL INTEREST.
OSAKA
2. IN ANSWER TO ROGERS QUESTIONS YAMAJI SAID THAT HE HAD BEENX EMELY DISAPPOINTED THAT HE HAD FAILED TO MEET HIS
PROMISED TARGET DATE OF NOVEMBER 1977 FOR OPENING OSAKA TO INTERNATIONAL SERVICES BY WIDE-BODIED AIRCRAFT. UNFORTUNATELY
AT THE LAST MOMENT HIS MINISTER HAD MADE A STATEMENT REGARDING
THE SOUND-PROOFING OF HOUSES IN THE VICINITY OF NARITA WHICH
HAD BEEN SEIZED UPON BY THE RESIDENTS OF OSAKA TO REOPEN
NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT THE SOUND -PROOFING OF HOUSES THERE. THIS HAD NOW BEEN SETTLED ON A BASIS WHICH GAVE THE OSAKA RESIDENTS
MORE FAVOURABLE TERMS THAN THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN PROMISED - ALTHOUGH FALLING SHORT OF WHAT HAD BEEN APPROVED FOR NARITA.
IN THE IMPROVED ATMOSPHERE THAT HAD THUS BEEN CREATED HE COULD NOW LOOK FORWARD ONCE AGAIN TO OPENING UP OSAKA MORE WIDELY TO WIDE-BODIED OPERATIONS, IN VIEW OF HIS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HE WAS RELUCTANT TO GIVE A PRECISE DATE, BUT HE HAD IT IN MIND THAT THE NUMBER OF APPROVED WIDE BODIED FLIGHTS MIGHT BE INCREASED FROM THE PRESENT LEVEL OF 50 PER WEEK TO 70 A WEEK IN LATE JANUARY/EARLY FEBRUARY 1978
OF THE 1978 SUMMER SEASON,
DATE FOR OPENING NARITA
•
AND TO 100 PER WEEK AT THE BEGINNING
CONFIDENTIAL
/ 3. IN ANSWER