§ 37. Mr. Sorensenasked the Minister of Aviation how many persons have been 848 involved in accidents in connection with private commercial aviation services during the past two years; in how many instances passengers have been involved in serious inconvenience through failures in the service; and if he is now satisfied that official regulations of these services are being fully observed.
§ Mr. ThorneycroftDuring the years 1958 and 1959, there were 65 accidents to aircraft on commercial flights of all kinds, excluding the Corporations. These accidents involved 99 fatalities, and 17 persons were seriously injured. I have no figures showing inconvenience to passengers. To reinforce the regulations applying to transport aviation services generally, an Order will be submitted shortly introducing Air Operators' Safety Certificates. Drafts of this Order are available in the Vote Office.
§ Mr. SorensenHow does this compare with B.O.A.C. and B.E.A. and, in the case of grievances of passengers arising from failure of the service, has the right hon Gentleman any authority or jurisdiction?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftWe do our best to study the convenience of passengers, particularly from the point of view of the operation of airports. The comparable figures in the case of the Corporations are 17, 57 and 16.
§ Mr. SorensenCan the matter be referred to the Minister?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftI have never known anyone find any difficulty in referring matters of inconvenience to a Minister.