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services to and from Hong Kong will come into existence I am unfortunately not yet in a position to say. China is not a party to the International Air Convention and the question of granting rights of transit and landing rights in their Country to non-Chinese air lines is still
unsettled. While traffic with or over China will not constitute the whole of the trade we may hope to see at uur airport, it will occupy a very large place at any rate in the early stages. Until therefore the matter of landing rights has been arranged commercial air services to and from Kai Tak must hang fire. It may seem premature in these cır- cunstances to engage an Assistant Superintendent for the aerodrome but the Superintendent is due for leave next year and even with the traffic now existing or in sight it is impossible to leave the aerodrome without a trained officer in charge. As regards traffic in sight Honourable Members will notice that the subsidy to the Flying Club again appears under Other Charges for this sub-department and I am glad to be able to inform them that there is every reason to
expect that the Club will be restored to life in the near future. After considerable persuasion the Air Ministry has withdrawn its objections to the establishment of a Flying School at Kai Tak and the Government has agreed to allow the Far East Aviation Company the use of the aero- drome for this purpose for an experimental period of two years and to pay it a subsidy not exceeding the $30,000 now to be voted and a similar sum for the second year in return for the free training of a certain number of
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