IN THE 1930s many territories on the Arabian coast were under the protection of the British, who held the exclusive right to grant visas and therefore controlled the airspace. Aviators flying to and from the Far East were directed to fly over Persia, not Arabia. Both KLM and Air France had to fly the northern route, while only the British-owned Imperial Airways was allowed to land at the two regular aerodromes on the Arabian side, Bahrain and Sharjah. Such was the British domination of the region that The Times dubbed the airspace over the Persian Gulf "the Suez Canal of the Air." Among the reasons advanced for banning aircraft from the Arabian side of the Gulf was its desolate terrain, inhospitable climate, and lack of facilities. Aircraft were almost unknown-and unwelcome. It was said there was a danger of injury or death at the hands of "wild tribesmen" if an aviator should need to make an emergency landing. There was some truth in these assertions, for the Arabia of the 1930s was a vastly different place from the oil-rich countries of today.
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