Civil aviation matters concerning Saudi Arabia and the UK

This file relates to the negotiation of civil aviation matters between Saudi Arabia and the UK, including the UK airline British Caledonian and the Saudi airline Saudia. It contains correspondence concerning:

• HMG’s review and white paper on civil aviation and what this means for aviation in Saudi Arabia
• The interest in establishing new routes to and through Saudi Arabia, including the route Hong Kong-Dhahran-Frankfurt
• The Saudi Royalty’s appreciation for British Airways, after it chartered a Concorde flight from the US to France for King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud’s wife Princess Jawhara Bint Ibrahim Al Ibrahim
• The replacement of British Airways by British Caledonian as the designated carrier for Saudi Arabia
• A visit by British Caledonian officials to Saudi Arabia to negotiate routes to Saudi Arabia’s three main international airports Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran. It includes HMG’s negotiations to try and convince the Saudis to allow this and the investigation of how Swissair is able to operate from all three airports
• The new Saudi regulations for diplomatic clearance and overflight arrangements for flights in Saudi airspace, which have to be processed in Riyadh.