Western officials here said it is more time-consuming to go through the process of requesting overflight permission for Iraqi aircraft.

Since then, long-duration balloonists have tried hard to get overflight permission from all countries over which they might fly, but have not always succeeded.

She allowed American F-111's to fly from British bases, at a time when France refused overflight permission.

Kuwait provided basing and overflight permissions for all U.S. and coalition forces.

The balloon also had to carefully thread its way around the borders of Iran and Russia, which had denied it overflight permission.

Without overflight permission from Venezuela, though, the flights from Aruba and Curacao are of limited use.

Even if it had Israel's capability to mount an Entebbe-style commando rescue, a bristly Pakistan would refuse overflight permission.

The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia also deployed forces, and several other countries provided basing, access and overflight permission.

Shortly after the balloon reached the Himalayas yesterday, China unexpectedly canceled the overflight permission it had granted to Richard Branson and his crew.

According to the Department of State website, the Bureau secures military base access and overflight permission to support the deployment of U.S. military forces.

Mr. Branson's Virgin Global Challenger balloon team had requested and received overflight permission from Libya, but as it turned out the balloon never reached Libya.

Frantic diplomatic efforts by Mr. Branson's ground team in London ensued, and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain appealed for Chinese overflight permission.

Overflight permission was granted by Turkey on March 23, and the Combat Talon IIs delivered a total of 50 ODAs into Iraq.

But uncooperative jet-stream winds, technical flaws, piloting errors, shortages of money and the refusal of several nations, including China, to grant overflight permission conspired to defeat all the balloonists who tried this year.

However, Russian authorities denied overflight permission so the airship had to be dismantled and shipped to Japan rather than following the historic Graf Zeppelin flight from Germany to Japan.

Finally, after the balloon had already begun its crossing of the Himalayas from Nepal to Tibet, China withdrew it overflight permission and ordered the balloon to land at Lhasa, Tibet.

They have sweated it out crossing oceans, mountains and deserts in a full circumnavigation of all the Earth's meridians, battled to secure landing and overflight permissions and pocketed memorable experiences in the process.

SOLO BALLOONIST FLOATS ON An American balloonist trying to circle the earth in his balloon passed south of Libya after he was denied overflight permission.

All efforts by a half-dozen ballooning teams in the last decade to circle the world in the Northern Hemisphere have failed, mostly for technical reasons but also because of delays in the granting of overflight permission by various nations.

Now not only has Turkey's new government refused to quicken victory and save lives in Iraq by renting us a base to launch a northern front, but it is the only NATO member to deny our aircraft overflight permission.

Soon after they had committed their 160-foot-high balloon to a course taking it over the Himalayas from India, the Chinese Foreign Ministry sent word that the overflight permission it had granted the balloonists on Nov. 26 had been withdrawn.

Guided by their meteorologists and ground team, Mr. Branson's crew had to deal with Libya's initial refusal to grant overflight permission, dodge dangerous thunderstorms over Turkey and thread a complicated course avoiding Iraq, Iran and Russia.

Richard Branson, pilot of the British Virgin Challenger balloon and chairman of the Virgin Group of companies and Virgin Atlantic Airways, said he had received overflight permission from Libya and Algeria early yesterday.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy a strong relationship and Pakistan International Airlines planes ferrying Pakistan Army reinforcements to East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, refueled in Colombo after India denied Pakistan overflight permissions before the actual outbreak of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971.

While a Global Hawk configuration carrying two 225 kilogram (500 pound) or four 112 kilogram (250 pound) GPS-guided bombs has been considered, senior Air Force brass are not enthusiastic about arming the type, since that would make it politically more difficult to use in peacekeeping operations or to obtain overflight permission from friendly nations.