TNAG-0869-FCO40-1079-Air-services-between-China--Hong-Kong-and-the-UK-1979 — Page 48

CONFIDENTIAL

B. THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPEAT NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS POLICY AND THE BAN ON NEW AIRLINES IS ENTIRELY NON-DISCRIMINATORY.

C. IF EXCEPTIONALLY WE AGREED TO CAAC OPERATING TO HEATHROW, WE WOULD BE CRITICISED FOR DISCRIMINATION BY OTHER GOVERNMENTS WHOSE CARRIERS HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWED INTO HEATHROW. THERE IS NO WAY OF QUOTE FINDING SOME EXCUSE UNQUOTE (YOUR TELNO 795) FOR MAKING SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CAAC, WITHOUT BEING SEEN TO BE MAKING AN EXCEPTION TO OUR OVERALL POLICY.

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IN CONTRAST TO HEATHROW, FACILITIES, EG FOR PASSENGER HANDLING, ARE NOT CONGESTED AT GATWICK.

E. YET GATWICK HANDLED 8 MILLION PASSENGERS IN 1978, THIS COMPARES WITH 9 MILLION AT PARIS (CHARLES DE GAULLE) AND 7 MILLION (ZURICH), BOTH OF WHICH CAAC SERVE, OUT OF MORE THAN 30 MAJOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS IN WESTERN EUROPE, ONLY 9 HANDLED MORE PASSENGERS IN 1978 THAN GATWICK AND OF THESE ONLY 5 HANDLED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE. F. INTERLINING FACILITIES AT GATWICK ARE GOOD, WITH CONNECTIONS TO EUROPE, AMERICA (NORTH AND SOUTH) AND AFRICA.

G. GATWICK IS USED FOR THE ARRIVAL OF ALL HEADS OF STATE MAKING STATE VISITS TO THE UK BECAUSE OF THE TRAIN LINK TO VICTORIA, AND FOR OTHER VIPS.

3. IT WOULD BE BETTER ON THIS OCCASION NOT TO REFER TO THE PROPOSALS TO MOVE SERVICES TO THE IBERIAN PENINSULA FROM HEATHROW TO

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GATWICK. FOR YOUR OWN INFORMATION, THE OUTCOME OF THESE SEEMS LIKELY TO BE THAT THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AIRLINES WILL STAY AT HEATHROW

BUT WILL FREEZE THEIR CAPACITY AT THE PRESENT LEVEL AND POSSIBLY

VOLUNTARILY TRANSFER SOME SERVICES: BA WOULD TRANSFER ITS SERVICES

TO THE PENINSULA UNITLATERALLY, AIR SERVICES TO CANADA WOULD

REMAIN AT HEATHROW, THIS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE GOVERNMENT

STATEMENT.

4. YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT WE SOUGHT BA'S REACTION TO THE SUGGEST-

ION THAT THEY AND CAAC SHOULD BOTH OPERATE FROM GATWICK. THEY

OPPOSED THIS ON THE GROUND THAT IT WOULD BE UNECONOMIC TO SPLIT

THEIR OPERATIONS TO HONG KONG AND TO MOVE PART OF THEIR B747

OPERATIONS FROM HEATHROW.

5. THE TIMING AND METHOD OF YOUR APPROACH IS AT YOUR DISCRETION.

YOU SHOULD BEAR IN MIND THAT THE GOVERNMENT'S STATEMENT ON AIRPORTS

CONFIDENTIAL / Policy