RECENT EXPANSION OF SOVIET INTERNATIONAL AIR SERVICE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R001600020132-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 17, 2010
• Sequence Number: 132
• Publication Date: September 1, 1969
• Content Type: IM

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O,I 1+1 cEI /1 vvi - c '/- 130
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Confidential
DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence Memorandum
Confidential
ER IM 69-130
September 1969
Copy No.
49
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WARNING
This document contains information affecting the national
defense of the Unitc,d States, within the meaning of Title
18, sections 793 and 794, of the US Code, as amended.
Its transmission or revelation of its contents to or re-
ceipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
GROUP 1
f,dud,d hum 000m011(
downgrading and
didonilcalian
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CONFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
September 1969
Recent Expansion
of Soviet International Air Service
Introduction
The initial expansion of air operations by Aero-
flot (the Soviet State Airline) to the Free World
in the mid-1950's was basically an extension of
routes between Moscow and East European capitals
into Western Europe.* During the 1960's the USSR
has established an extensive, though thinly served,
route network to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and
Cuba and has introduced transatlantic service to
Canada and the United States. By mid-1969, Aeroflot
operated 58 flights per week to 42 Free World coun-
tries** and 62 flights per week to 10 Communist
countries.
Since the beginning of 1969 the USSR has inaugu-
rated service to four Free World countries and North
Vietnam and has been engaged in several important
negotiations with major civil aviation powers. This
memorandum examines recent developments in Soviet
international civil air operations and likely develop-
ments in the future, including round-the-world ser-
vice.
* For a comprehensive view of the international
service of Communist airlines into the Free World,
** For the purposes of this memorandum, Cuba and
Yugoslavia are considered Free World countries.
Note: This memorandum was produced solely by CIA.
If was prepared by the Office of Economic Research
and was coordinated internally in CIA and with the
Department of State.
CONFIDENTIAL
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New Service to the Free World*
1. In the spring of 1969, Aeroflot inaugurated
service to Norway, Uganda, South Yemen, and Singa-
pore. The service to Oslo, which began in April as
an extension of Aeroflot's flights to Stockholm,
was based on an air agreement signed in 1956.
Aeroflot now flies into all of the Scandinavian
countries. The service to Oslo reflects a relaxa-
tion of Norwegian objections to air service by Com-
munist countries and has been followed by the
announcement of new service to Oslo by several East
European airlines.
2. In April 1969, Sudan finally approved a
longstanding Soviet request for beyond rights from
Khartoum, and Aeroflot promptly extended its weekly
Moscow-Khartoum flight to Entebbe, Uganda, and be-
yond to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The USSR signed
an air agreement with Uganda in 1965 but had not
initiated service because of its failure to obtain
beyond rights from Khartoum. Formerly the route
to Dar-es-Salaam was over water from Mogadiscio,
Somali Republic. That route now terminates at
Mogadiscio after intermediate stops in Egypt, Yemen,
and South Yemen. Aden was added to the route for
the first time in May 1969, after the USSR signed
an air agreement with South Yemen.
3. Sudan also has apparently granted Aeroflot
beyond rights to Bangui, Central African Republic.
The USSR announced that Aeroflot will begin service
in November 1969 to Brazzaville, Congo, via Cairo,
Khartoum, and Bangui. In February 1966 an Aeroflot
TU-114 crashed on takeoff during bad weather at
Moscow's Sheremet'yevo Airport on an inaugural
flight to Brazzaville via West Africa, and the route
was not subsequently flown.
4. Aeroflot's new service to Singapore, which
followed the signing of an air agreement between
the USSR and Singapore in May 1969, not only opened
up this burgeoning commercial center to Aeroflot
but also provides a springboard to other cities in
the area. Aeroflot at first made Singapore an in-
termediate point on a new route to Djakarta, at the
See the map and TabZe 1,
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CONFIDENTIAL
same time canceling the poorly patronized IL-18
flight from Colombo to Djakarta. Aeroflot has
since reverted to the Colombo-Djakarta route, and
the weekly IL-62 service to Singapore via New Delhi
now.terminates in Singapore. Further additions to
Aeroflot's route network appear to be in the offing,
as civil air discussions have been initiated by
Soviet officials with Malaysia, Thailand, and Cam-
bodia. The major goal of Soviet initiatives in
Southeast Asia, however, is'Aeroflot service to
Australia.
New Service to Hanoi*
5. In March 1969 the USSR achieved another
longstanding objective by inaugurating a South Asian
route to Hanoi via Karachi and Calcutta. Prelimi-
nary steps had been taken in 1967 to establish such
a service, but the enterprise was abandoned after a
few test flights. In late 1968 the USSR began
securing landing and beyond rights from India and
overflight rights from Laos in order to establish
a route to Hanoi that avoided the overflight of
China.** Existing civil air agreements with Afghani-
stan, Pakistan, and Burma provided the remaining
landing, transit, and beyond rights necessary for
this route. Soviet agreements with India and Burma,
and probably the one with Laos as well, contain the
provision (which is standard in bilateral air agree-
ments) that no troops or military equipment can be
carried into or over the countries concerned.
Despite this provision, considerable apprehension
was expressed in the press and Parliament of India
during the early days of this new service that
military personnel or equipment might be carried
on this flight. Following the signing of a formal
air agreement between the USSR and North Vietnam
on 20 June 1969, Aeroflot began operating scheduled
twice monthly service in mid-July.
Rerouting of Moscow-Havana Flights
6. During the past year and a half the USSR
has drastically rerouted its Aeroflot service to
See Table 2.
Some Soviet passengers, air freight, and mail
bound for Hanoi continue to travel by Aeroflot to
Peking and thence by the Chinese airline CAAC to
Hanoi.
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CONFIDENTIAL
Havana. In April 1968, Aeroflot switched one of
its twice weekly flights to Cuba from the 5,000-
mile nonstop over-water route via Murmansk to a
route via Algiers involving a 4,400-mile nonstop
leg. In January 1969, Aeroflot began to operate
both flights via Algiers, and in April 1969 one of
these flights added a stop at Rabat, Morocco.
Aeroflot currently operates both flights via Rabat,
one of which also stops at Algiers. Service via
Rabat reduced the longest nonstop portion of the
route to 4,000 miles and permitted the introduction
of the Soviet long-range jet, the IL-62. This air-
craft is configured to carry at least 122 passen-
gers, almost double the number that could be carried
on the TU-114 over the route from Murmansk. Since
January 1969, Aeroflot has averaged more than 275
passenger seats available per week, including the
occasional extra flights, compared with an average
of about 150 seats per week on the route via Mur-
mansk.
7. In July 1969 the USSR requested permission
from the West German government to overfly the
territory of West Germany on both flights to Havana
via Rabat. West German government reactions seem
to have been favorable, and approval of the Soviet
request is probable. Presumably this route also
would go over France and would require the permis-
sion of the French government.
Fleet Modernization
8. The introduction of more modern aircraft
during the last two years has made Aeroflot's inter-
national service somewhat more competitive with
that of Western airlines. In mid-1967 the new short-
to-medium range jet TU-134 began replacing the ob-
solete TU-104 on a few of Aeroflot's routes to
Western Europe. In September 1967 the aging TU-114
was replaced by the first Soviet long-range jet
transport, the IL-62, on the Moscow-Montreal flight.
The IL-62 is now in service to New York, Montreal,
Rome, Cairo, London, Rabat, Algiers, Havana, Paris,
New Delhi, Dakar, Conakry, Singapore, and Tokyo.
The TU-134 now serves most of Aeroflot's routes to
Western Europe and is currently being introduced
into Middle Eastern service. In total, the IL-62
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CONFIDENTIAL
and TU-134 Soviet jet transports now serve 34 of
Aeroflot's 58 flights to the Free World and 18 of
its 62 flights to Communist countries. The intro-
duction of the Soviet medium-to-long range TU-154,
scheduled for some time in 1971, will accelerate
Aeroflot's fleet modernization program.
Negotiations for Further Expansion
9. The'USSR has been negotiating for even
greater expansion of Aeroflot's route network,
chiefly through amendments to existing agreements
with France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,
and Japan. The key to these negotiations is Soviet
willingness to open up its air space to Free.World
air carriers in exchange for comparable concessions.
Soviet willingness to do so was first demonstrated
in April 1967 with the inauguration of a joint
Aeroflot-Japanese Air Line (JAL) service between
Moscow and Tokyo. This was followed in November
1967 with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) service be-
tween Copenhagen and Singapore via Tashkent.
10. In March 1969 the USSR and Japan concluded
negotiations for independent JAL service between
Moscow and Tokyo beginning in March 1970. JAL was
granted beyond rights from Moscow to Western Europe,
and Aeroflot was granted beyond rights from Tokyo,
an important jumpoff point for any future Aeroflot
route across the Pacific.
11. At the same time the USSR dangled the trans-
Siberian route and rights to overfly Central Asia
before the United Kingdom, France, and the Nether-
lands in order to gain for Aeroflot the privilege
of carrying passengers across the Atlantic from
West European cities. Although these negotiations
began on a cordial note early in 1969, the attitude
of Soviet officials has since hardened. They also
pressured the three West European airlines (and JAL
as well) to buy or lease the Soviet IL-62 for the
trans-Siberian flight. Negotiations are likely to
be protracted -- in fact, talks with the British
and French were recently broken off -- but prospects
are good for an eventual agreement with one or more
of the West European airlines. Civil air negotia-
tions with the Italians are scheduled to begin in
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September. Any agreement for trans-Siberian over-
flights to Tokyo, however, would require approval by
Japan.
Soviet-West German Negotiations
12. Civil air negotiations between the USSR and
West Germany, the only major aviation power with
whom the USSR does not have an air agreement, were
resumed in December 1968 after a lapse of several
years. Negotiations were directed at the establish-
ment of air service between Moscow and Frankfurt
by both Aeroflot and Lufthansa, but discussions
also involved beyond rights for Lufthansa from Mos-
cow to Tokyo and for Aeroflot from Frankfurt to
Africa and the Western Hemisphere. The major ob-
stacle in these negotiations is the Soviet insist-
ence on an intermediate Aeroflot stop in East Berlin
at Schoenefeld Airport. This Soviet objective
appears to be political rather than commercial.
Aeroflot has two scheduled flights daily from Mos-
cow into East Berlin, and the East German airline
Interflug also flies the route. Moreover, the USSR
has not requested passenger traffic rights from
East Berlin to Frankfurt. West Germany in the past
has opposed the stop at Schoenefeld in order to
prevent it from becoming a significant center for
international air traffic. An interministerial
committee of the Federal Republic is currently
studying the Soviet proposal and has consulted with
the three Allied Powers, which control the use of
West German airspace. The Allies have recommended
strongly against allowing Aeroflot to use Schoene-
feld as an intermediate stop.
The Soviet Thrust for Round-the-World Service
13. Soviet negotiations with both Europe and
Asia suggest a continued drive for a round-the-
world route, which would be economically feasible
only if it crossed the United States. In May 1969,
Marshal Y.F. Loginov, the Soviet Minister of Civil
Aviation, told US officials in Moscow that Aeroflot
wanted commercial rights for service between the
United States and certain European points such as
Amsterdam, and the right to operate an IL-62 ser-
vice between Tokyo and San Francisco/Los Angeles
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via Honolulu. Such a service, which has been men-
tioned by other Soviet officials, would require new
US-USSR negotiations, as the existing air agreement
provides only for Moscow-New York service and con-
fers no beyond or overflight rights.* A trans-
Canada route, operating from Tokyo or possibly from
Khabarovsk, would be an alternative but would be
less lucrative and also would push the range limit
of the IL-62.
Conclusions
14. in recent months the USSR has continued at
a steady pace to expand Aeroflot's international
air service to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and
Asia. Soviet negotiations with West European
countries and Japan indicate a strong desire to
increase Aeroflot's traffic rights on the lucrative
Atlantic route and to establish a route across the
Pacific. These moves suggest an intensification of
the Soviet drive to achieve a long-sought goal of
becoming a round-the-world carrier. Such global
service would be both prestigious and profitable.
The lack of modern jet transport aircraft, once an
obstacle to this goal, has been overcome, and
willingness to open its air space to Free World
carriers gives the USSR a strong bargaining posi-
tion. Even if the USSR becomes a round-the-world
carrier in the next few years, its international
service in terms of frequency of operation and pas-
sengers carried will remain small in relation to
any one of the major air carriers in the Free World.
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Aeroflot Schedule of International Air Service
to the Free World and Cuba
As of August 1969
Trip
Number
Flights
12er Week
Type of
Aircraft
Moscow-Montreal-New York
SU-03
2
IL-62
Moscow-Vienna
SU-017
1
TU-134
Moscow-Tashkent-Kabul
SU-019
1
IL-18
Moscow-Belgrade-Algiers-
Bamako
SU-021
1
IL-18
Moscow-Stockholm (1)-
Copenhagen
SU-023
3
TU-134(2)/TU-104
(1)
Moscow-Rome
SU-025
1
IL-6.-
Moscow-Ankara-Cairo-
Khartoum-Entebbe-Dar-
es-Salaam.
SU-029
1
IL-18
Moscow-London
SU-031
4
IL-62
Moscow-Cairo
SU-035
1
IL-62
Moscow-Damascus-Baghdad
SU-037
1
IL-18
Moscow-Helsinki
SU-039
2
TU-134
Moscow-Amsterdam-Brus-
sels
SU-041
2
TIT-104
Moscow-Teheran-Karachi-
Rangoon
SU-045
1
IL-18
Moscow-Algiers(1)-Rabat-
Havana
SU-047/077
2
IL-62
Moscow-Paris
SU-049
4
IL-62
Leningrad-Helsinki
SU-051
4
IL-18
Moscow-New Delhi
SU-053
1
IL-62
Moscow-Yerevan-Beirut
SU-057
1
IL-18
Moscow-Budapest-Tunis-
Rabat
SU-059
1
TU-134
Moscow-Tashkent-Karachi-
Colombo-Djakarta
SU-061
1
IL-18
Moscow-Kiyev(l)-Belgrade
SU-063
3
TU-134
Moscow-Algiers-Dakar-
Conakry
SU-065
1
IL-62
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Table 1
Aeroflot Schedule of. International Air Service
to the Free World and Cuba
As of August 1969
(Continued)
Routes
Trip
Number
Flights
per Week
Type of
Aircraft
Moscow-Cairo-Hodeida-
Aden-Mogadiscio
SU-069.
1
IL-18
Moscow-Simferopol-Nico-
sia-Beirut
SU-071
1
TU-134
Moscow-New Delhi-Singa-
pore
SU-073
1
IL-62
.
Moscow-Stockholm-Oslo
SU-075
1
TU-134
Moscow-Amsterdam
SU-079
1
TU-104
Moscow-Vienna (2) -Kiyev
(1) -Zurich
3
TU-134 (2) /TU-10 4B
(1)
Moscow-Brussels
SU-083
1
TU-104
Kiev-Vienna.
SU-089
2
IL-18
Moscow-Teheran-Baghdad
SU-097.
1
IL-18
Leningrad-Paris
SU-099
2
IL-62
Leningrad-Copenhagen-
London
SU-0125
1
TU-104B
Leningrad-Stockholm
SU-0127
1
TU-104B
Leningrad-Paris
SU-0129
1
TU-104B
Moscow-Tokyo
SU/JL-440-
2
IL-62
442
10 -
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Aeroflot Schedule of International Air Service
Communist Countries
As of August 1969
Routes
Trip
Number
Flights
per Week
Type of
Aircraft
Moscow-Prague
SU-05
IL-62 (2) /TU-104B
(4)
Moscow-Omsk-Irkutsk-
P'yongyang
Moscow-Omsk-Irlcutsk-
Peking
SU-011
1
TU-104
Moscow-Kiyev(2)-Sofiya
SU-015
7
TU-104B
Moscow-Warsaw
SU-027
7
TU-134
Moscow-Budapest
SU-033/059
6
TU-104B (5) /TU-134
(1)
Moscow-East Berlin
SU-043
TU-104B
Moscow-Irkutsk-Ulan
Bator
SU-055
2
IL-18
Moscow-Kiyev (1) -Bucharest
SU-067
3
TU-134
Moscow-Prague-Bratislava
SU-085
1
TU-104B
Moscow-East Berlin
SU-087
7
IL-62 (3) /TU-104B
(4)
Kiyev-East Berlin
SU-091
2
IL-18
Kiyev-Budapest
SU-093/0117
2
IL-18
Kiyev-Prague
SU-095
2
IL-18
Kiyev-Warsaw
SU-0119
2
AN-24
Leningrad-Prague
SU-0121
1
IL-18
Leningrad-Vi l'nyus-Warsaw
SU-0123
2
TU-134
Leningrad-East Berlin
SU-0131
2
IL-18
Moscow-Tashkent-Karachi-
Calcutta-Hanoi
None
2 per
IL-18
month
- 11
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Karachi
Rangoonr
Colombo
Singapore
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INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AIR ROUTE'S
OF THE USSR
August 1969
Tokyo'