§ 34. Sir A. V. Harveyasked the Minister of Aviation what progress he has made in his consultations with the Airline Corporations and the Minister of Transport regarding the delays which take place when clearing passengers from inward flights at London Airport; and if he is yet able to state his plans for improving the situation.
§ Mr. RipponI am investigating the particular incident about which my hon. and gallant Friend wrote to me last week, and I will communicate with him as soon as possible. The consultations with the Airline Corporations and the Ministry of Transport, to which I referred in answer to a question by the hon. Member for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd) on 2nd May, relate to a different matter, namely, the journey time between the Airport and Central London.
§ Sir A. V. HarveyIs my hon. Friend aware that the incident to which I referred is only one of many? Is he aware that at peak hours passengers frequently take up to an hour to get through bageage and Customs, and that even now the facilities for domestic routes—for passengers from Scotland, Manchester and Ireland—are quite inadequate? Has he seen that today's Evening Standard stated that 500 passengers were held up this morning? Is he aware that this whole set-up at London Aiport is a terrible advertisement for Britain? Will he set up a committee to look into this and overhaul the whole system so as to expedite the arrival of passengers?
§ Mr. RipponI cannot accept my hon. Friend's strictures in their entirety, but there is certainly a problem to be tackled as the growth of traffic increases. We certainly want to obviate delays at any time, including the peak period. There is clearly a special problem to be met in the peak hours.
§ Mr. G. BrownWill the hon. Gentleman accept from me that, however bad it is at London Airport, the situation at Idlewild is so terrible that, by comparison, what we do here is a good advertisement for us?
§ Mr. RipponComparisons are odious, so I had, perhaps, better leave them to the right hon. Gentleman.