A To my wife and children ProQuest Number: 10673044 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673044 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 POLITICS AND ASPECTS OF L\<6H<\'s THE DEVELOPMENT OF .AIK TRANSPORT SYSTEMS 'TR 13=©^: A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS AMIN BASHIR DAABAJ MARGHANI Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies. u-'X i ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to analyse the developments of Libya's air transport systems and infrastructures by analysing the evolution of these spatial organisations. Certain underlying factors are examined in order to ex­ plain these developments including the political ele­ ment influencing the changing flows in, and structures of, the networks. The Study emphasises the need to ex­ amine similar systems in other developing countries in the light of internal political forces, and the impact of the policies of the major suppliers of air transport technology. The Preface defines the subject matter ana methodology. The Introduction deals with the topic in order to in­ troduce the ideas presented in the subsequent chapters of this thesis. The remainder of this thesis is divided into six chapters so that each covers a dis­ tinctive aspect of development. Chapter 1 investigates air transport in Libya in the pre-independence period before 1951, concentrating on the immediate pre- Independence years. Chapter 2 examines the impact of oil as an indigenous factor enabling the development of the Libyan air transport systems and infrastructure. (i) The macro planning processes in Libyan air transport are considered in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 places the con­ temporary developments in Libya's international and domestic air networks in their wider geographical con­ text with special reference to the four North African national airlines. Chapter 5 analyses the geographical and political aspects of the organisation of the Libyan air transport systems with emphasis on the predictions for changes in their organisation as a consequence of the removal of the administrative centre of the country from the historic location of Tripoli. This chapter also considers the revival of the strategic sig­ nificance of the Libyan airport system. Chapter 6 considers the aircraft fleet aspect of Libyan air transport and throws light on the ability of the US Government to single handedly prevent its updating and to obstruct efforts towards an efficient system. (ii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The acknowledgements made here ought not disguise my sincere appreciation to those individuals who have helped me tremendously by providing material that I would not have been able to obtain without their kind help. I would like to express my deepest gratitude arc appreciation first to my supervisor, Dr. Keith McLachlan, for his continued patience, guidance and support. Many thanks and gratitude goes to Mr. J. Sar­ gent (Head of the Geography Department) for his en­ couragement and provision of some material complement­ ing a certain aspect of evidence provided in this thesis. In addition, many thanks go to Dr. Tony Allan for his consistent support and advice in numerous dis­ cussions that he kindly carried out with me on and around aspects of this thesis' topic. I must thank Dr. R. Bradnock for his interest and encouragement. Much appreciation and gratitude must go to Mr. George Joffe for his valued views and advice on state strategy aspects and for reading the thesis and making valuable editorial remarks. Thanks must also go to Dr. John Wright for promptly providing a copy of an article he published on Libya's relations with Chad. ( iii ) I am deeply gratified to Linda Brady and Lyn Bentle for the typing and word processing of this work. I is, however, to my wife, my brothers and sister ano r.. children that I will be eternally grateful for thei constant support and encouragement. TABLE OF CONTENTS 'kick-k-k-k-k'k-k'k'k-k'k'k'kick ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF MAPS & FIGURES xi PREFACE 1 FOOTNOTES 6 INTRODUCTION 7 THE GEOGRAPHIC CONSTRAINTS 8 THE PROBLEM AND ITS ANALYSIS 15 AIR TRANSPORT: AN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY 19 AIR TRANSPORT: AT THE FOREFRONT OF POLITICS 22 INDEPENDENCE 27 THE IMPACT OF OIL 28 THE PLANNING PROCESS 30 MAGHREBI AIRLINES 32 STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS 36 THE US ROLE 4 0 SOURCES 43 FOOTNOTES 47 CHAPTER 1: AIR TRANSPORT BEFORE OIL 52 INTRODUCTION 52 TRANSFER OF CONTROL AT INDEPENDENCE 52 MILITARY AND CIVILIAN IMPLICATIONS 54 BRITISH AIRLINES 56 OTHER OPERATORS AND OPERATIONS 5 9 THE EFFECT OF INDEPENDENCE 65 AID AND CONTROL 67 AIR SERVICES AGREEMENTS 74 THE FIRST LIBYAN AIRLINE 80 OTHER AIRLINES 82 UPGRADING THE AIRPORTS 85 EFFECTS OF OIL DISCOVERY 88 IMPLICATIONS FOR RESCUE SERVICES 92 IBRD REPORT 94 CONCLUSION 98 FOOTNOTES 101 (v) CHAPTER 2: OIL REVENUES & LIBYA'S AIR TRANSPORT SYSTEM 112 THE FOUNDING OF A NATIONAL AIRLINE 112 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) 114 WITHDRAWAL OF RIGHTS TO OPERATE INTERNAL SERVICES FROM FOREIGN AIRLINES 1 1 6 PREPARATIONS FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF THE LIBYAN NATIONAL AIRLINE 118 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NATIONAL AIRLINE'S DOMESTIC NETWORK 120 EXPANSION OF THE LIBYAN CARRIER'S INTERNATIONAL NETWORK 124 TWA STUDY 126 AIRCRAFT IN OPERATION 130 OIL FIELD SERVICES 133 EFFECT OF OIL PRODUCTION ON THE TRANSPORT SYSTEM 134 IMPROVING THE FLEET 139 NATIONAL AIR CARRIER'S FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 143 AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS 149 RUNWAYS 157 TRAINING OF AIR CREWS 160 PASSENGER FLOW CHANGES 169 CONCLUSION 175 FOOTNOTES 179 CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT STUDIES FOR AIR TRANSPORT 190 INTRODUCTION 190 THE DOXIADIS STUDY 193 THE HISTORIC REVIEW 197 FLYING AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 198 EFFECT OF POPULATION AND LOCATION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY 199 OIL ACTIVITIES AND FOREIGN MANPOWER 202 PILGRIM MOVEMENT 20 2 THE GRAVITY CENTRES CONCEPT 203 FORMATION OF A NATIONAL AIR CARRIER 205 THE STATUS OF AIRPORTS AND AERODROMES 2 06 THE RECOMMENDED AIRPORTS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 213 THE HALCROW AND PARTNERS PLAN 219 RESTRUCTURING THE CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY 220 THE NATIONAL AIR CARRIER OPERATION PLAN 222 FREDRICK HARRIS AND MARTIN & VOORHEES ASSOCIATES STUDY 226 TRANSPORT PLANNING AND IDEOLOGY 2 27 PLANNING METHODOLOGY AND FORECASTING 230 DATA INPUTS 2 35 MODELS OUTPUT - AIR TRANSPORT 236 PAINTING ROSY PICTURES FOR BLEAK REALITY 2 42 FORECASTING AIR FREIGHT TRAFFIC 245 FLEET PROPOSALS 2 45 DEVELOPMENT PHASES AND CRITERIA 252 SPECIALISATION 253 SCHEDULING CRITERIA 257 AIR TRANSPORT STANDARD TERMS 2 63 PROPOSALS FOR TRIED, UNSUCCESSFUL SCHEMES 266 AIRPORT DEFINITION 266 (vi) FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES 267 CONCLUSION 268 FOOTNOTES 2 75 CHAPTER 4: STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION OF THE LIBYAN AND NORTH AFRICAN AIR NETWORKS 285 INTRODUCTION 285 LIBYA AS PART OF THE MAGHREB REGION 288 AIR MAGHREB 291 AIRLINES OF THE MAGHREB COUNTRIES TODAY 2 93 ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE IN 1986 AND DEDUCED COMPARISONS 2 96 MEASUREMENT OF TRAFFIC AND CAPACITY 298 FLEET MEASUREMENT AND COMPARISON 319 AIR ALGERIE FLEET AND ITS UTILISATION 321 ROYAL AIR MAROC FLEET AND ITS UTILISATION 322 TUN ISAIR 323 LIBYAN ARAB AIRLINES 324 A COLLECTIVE FLEET ASSESSMENT FOR THE FOUR AIRLINES 326 AN ASSESSMENT BASED ON INTENDED OPERATIONS 3 30 COMPARATIVE NETWORK LENGTHS 331 DESTINATIONS 334 THE EFFECT OF OIL AND TOURISM 338 NON-EUROPEAN DESTINATIONS: AFRICAN ROUTES 3 42 THE MIDDLE EAST 34 8 TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHTS 351 INFLUENCE OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION 356 'THE FRENCH CONNECTION' 3 63 THE MAGHREB CONNECTION 36 9 INTERNATIONAL AIR GATEWAYS 3 75 AN ANALYSIS OF THE DOMESTIC AIR NETWORKS 37 7 A COLLECTIVE COMPARISON FOR THE FOUR AIRLINES 382 SCHEDULED CAPACITY 383 NETWORK CAPACITY RATIOS AND AREA AND POPULATION SIZE 3 85 CONNECTIVITY AND ALTERNATIVE ROUTINGS 390 FURTHER ANALYSIS OF THE LIBYAN DOMESTIC AIR NETWORK 3 96 CONCLUSION 405 FOOTNOTES 4 09 CHAPTER 5: IMPLICATIONS OF LOCATION ON THE LIBYAN AIR TRANSPORT SYSTEMS 420 THE VITAL ROLE OF AIR TRANSPORT IN THE LIBYAN 'ISLAND' 422 TRANSPORT LINES AND POLITICAL LINES OF DEMARCATION 4 23 THE INTRODUCTION OF THE AEROPLANE TO LIBYA 426 'DEMOGRAPHIC COLONISATION' AND LIBYA'S FIRST AIR SERVICES 427 EXPANSION FOR STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS 428 CATEGORIES OF OPERATIONS AND THE CLOSED SYSTEM 428 BRITISH CONTROL AND LIBYA'S INCLUSION IN A WIDER AIR TRANSPORT SYSTEM 431 TRIPOLI: A STRATEGIC NODE ON THE BRITISH AFRICAN (vii ) AIR NETWORK 434 REVIVAL OF TRIPOLI AIRPORT'S STRATEGIC ROLE 4 39 UNRECIPROCATED PRIVILEGES 441 AIRSPACE AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS 4 45 AIR LINKS WITH FELLOW ARAB STATES: RATIONED OPEN SKIES POLICY. BEGINNING AND FAILURE. 447 EFFECT OF LIBYA'S ISOLATION 453 DEMOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AS A RESULT OF PHYSICAL FACTORS AND THE DOMESTIC AIR TRANSPORT SYSTEM 456 THE GULF OF SURT 459 NODES OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE ON THE DOMESTIC NETWORK 46 2 IMPLICATIONS OF MOVING THE STATE'S ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE FROM TRIPOLI 46 3 AIR TRANSPORT VERSUS ROAD TRANSPORT 4 64 THE GREATEST IMPACT: NEW TRAFFIC FROM TRIPOLI 469 CONCLUSION 4 71 FOOTNOTES 476