Saudi Airline Will Not Cut Its Rates to Carry Mail to American Troops

Saudi Arabia’s national airline declined a Postal Service request that it waive international mail rates in favor of the lower fees observed by U.S. airlines for carrying mail to American troops in the Saudi desert, a postal official said Thursday.

James E. Orlando, head of international services for the Postal Service, confirmed that Saudi Arabian Airlines had charged the service nearly $1.9 million to deliver about 1.05 million pounds of mail addressed to Operation Desert Shield troops during the Sept. 1-Oct. 17 period.

Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman (R-N.Y.) had cited those figures in a letter of protest to the Saudi ambassador and the postmaster general, saying that was too much to pay.

Orlando, questioned by a reporter, said the amount was reasonable, in that it complied with the rates set by the Universal Postal Union, an international organization of postal administrators.

But he noted that the Saudis had declined a Postal Service request that the airline instead observe the mail-rate schedule set by the Department of Transportation for U.S.-flagged carriers. Those rates are about 2 1/2 times higher than the U.S. rates.

Since mid-November, virtually all mail to Desert Shield troops has been carried by military aircraft, Orlando said.

Under the law providing “free” mailing privileges to Desert Shield soldiers, the Defense Department must reimburse the Postal Service.