Air Congress

Seated in the Hall of the Caesars on Rome's Capitoline Hill last week were some 50 pilots and navigators who have flown across oceans. They had been convened as the first International Congress of Transoceanic Fliers by the Italian Aero

Club for the expressed purpose of determining the best air route across the Atlantic. But spade-bearded General Italo Balbo, promoter of the conference, was not really looking for information. He was well satisfied with the lane from West Africa to Brazil across which he had led a squadron of ten seaplanes last year. General Balbo had something else on his mind: a proposal that all nations open their airports to international commercial traffic as seaports admit ships of all flags. The delegates were without authority but could direct sentiment.

To his feet angrily sprang Dieudonne ("Doudou") Costc (Paris-Dallas 1930). The whole business was clear to him! France had spent millions on its Aeropostale service which holds exclusive rights to enter various South American airports. Also it had exclusive right to use the Azores as a seaplane base when Aeropostale lines in Europe, Africa and South America should be linked by air. Now Italy wanted to destroy those advantages so that she might compete!

Squarely behind Coste stood his compatriot Jean Mermoz (Africa-Brazil 1930) and the Spanish delegate Ignacio

Iglesias (Spain-Brazil 1929). On General Balbo's side spoke Portugal's Admiral Gago Coutinho (Lisbon-Brazil 1922) whose government had given France the Azores concession, and Harold Gatty of the U. S. (round-world 1931). A vote was called by Chairman Sir Arthur Whitten Brown (first Atlantic flight, Newfoundland-Ireland 1919, with the late Sir John William Alcock). While French and Spanish delegates sat mute the rest of the Congress upheld Balbo's open-door policy.

General Balbo then revealed that Italy was ready to begin weekly 88-hr, flights between Rome and Buenos Aires. His plans were complete down to timetables, $800 fares and 75-c- postage. With full loads of eight passengers and ample mail, he said, the line would show a profit above the $1,300,000 annual expense.

Promptly France announced that she too would hasten to begin schedules, at first with monthly crossings between Senegal, West Africa and Natal, Brazil.

While routes were being discussed, proponents of the North Atlantic route were heavily outnumbered, partly because those who had flown it were not all eager to do it again. Capt. Wolfgang von Gronau (North Sea-U. S. 1930, 1931) was enthusiastic over the Iceland-Greenland route, as was Navigator Gatty; but Capt Hermann Koehl (Ireland-Greeneley Island 1928) wanted no more of that part of the ocean. Neither did Jean Assolant (Maine-Spain 1929).

The Congress voted to make Rome a clearing house for oceanic flying weather data, elected General Balbo president, chose Manhattan for the next meeting, got medals from Premier Mussolini, adjourned.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.