§ 40. Mr. Beswickasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to what extent the system of joint observation and control for both civil and military aircraft at night and in certain weather conditions in the London zone involves unified control by one officer looking at one screen at one time.
§ Mr. NeaveThe complexity of the control system and the volume of traffic within the London control zone are such that no one man could control all the traffic from one radar screen. But one man is in control of any one sector of the controlled air space. The task is shared by a number of controllers, some of whom are military. All controllers operate in accordance with jointly agreed procedures and use the same radar separation standards.
§ Mr. BeswickWhilst I accept that they all use the same procedures, is not it a fact that, in any one air space, there is a military controller looking after the military aircraft and a civil controller looking after the civil aircraft? Is not it a fact that, in this modern age, we can no longer afford to have two different controllers looking after aircraft in the same air space?
§ Mr. NeaveThere are two points there. With the Service Departments, we are building up a single air traffic control system, which is manned jointly by civil and by Service personnel. That is the first point. Secondly, and it is a matter of some importance, within the controlled 376 air space in certain sectors of the London control zone there is one man in control, whether he is civil or military.