§ 4. Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Aviation what is the average length of time between the arrival of aircraft at London Airport and the entry of their passengers into the Customs Hall.
§ Mr. MartenBetween 15 and 20 minutes.
§ Sir J. Langford-HoltWould not my hon. Friend agree that the reputation of an international airport depends on two 4 things—first, the speed with which passengers are got through, and, secondly, the services it provides? Is he quite satisfied that the speed we provide in this country measures up to international standards? Has he any plans for increasing that speed?
§ Mr. MartenWe are in constant contact with other international airports over this problem, and we are constantly considering it. I must point out that the airlines and not the airport management are responsible for getting passengers off the planes and transporting them and their baggage to the Customs Hall.
§ Mr. BurdenIs my hon. Friend convinced that at peak periods the maximum clearance through the Customs is at present being obtained? Would not he agree that it would obviously help to clear the airport more quickly during peak periods if this matter were looked at from the point of view of congestion during those periods?
§ Mr. MartenThis is one of the things we are constantly looking at. I hope that when No. 4 Passenger Building is completed this problem will be overcome.
§ 5. Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Aviation whether he will replace the message stand at present in the Foreign Arrivals' Lounge at London Airport.
§ Mr. MartenA new sign has now been erected in No. 1 Passenger Building above the message stand to make its position more obvious. A new stand in No. 3 Passenger Building, similar in shape to the No. 1 Passenger Building stand, has recently been installed.
§ Sir J. Langford-HoltWill my hon. Friend bear in mind that I am not complaining about the signing displayed but about the archaic sort of erection in the middle of the arrival lounge which is cluttered with little messages practically unreadable? Will not he look at the whole question of facilities in this lounge, which allows for the seating of only half the passengers who arrive on any two aircraft?
§ Mr. MartenThe question of seating is a different matter. I visited this lounge only the other day, but I will look at it again in the light of the points my hon. Friend has put.
§ 6. Mrs. McLaughlinasked the Minister of Aviation if he is aware that passengers at London Airport experience long delays while waiting for their luggage from incoming aircraft; and if he will make a study of the layout of the buildings there, with a view to improvements in them to reduce these delays.
§ Mr. MartenThe airlines are responsible for handling their passengers baggage at Heathrow. I do not accept the suggestion that delays are caused by the layout of the buildings.
§ Mrs. McLaughlinIs my hon. Friend aware that these delays exist and are causing considerable difficulty to passengers? On two recent occasions I waited for over forty minutes for baggage to come from the incoming aircraft to the passenger terminal building, and I can give my hon. Friend chapter and verse for these and other occasions when hon. Members have waited for over two hours when luggage came in at the European terminal instead of the incoming United Kingdom terminal. Is my hon. Friend really satisfied that passengers are receiving the attention they deserve, especially when they are making connecting flights, many of which are now lost because of this delay?
§ Mr. MartenI am extremely sorry if the hon. Lady has been so inconvenienced, and also other passengers apart from Members of Parliament. The average time taken for luggage to arrive at the building from aircraft is eleven minutes on domestic flights and nineteen minutes on international flights. As the hon. Lady knows, the airlines and not the Ministry are responsible for carrying baggage between the aircraft and the passenger building. Once it arrives at the building the baggage is carried by conveyor belt directly and without delay into the arrivals hall.
§ 7. Mrs. McLaughlinasked the Minister of Aviation what has been the saving to his Department by the transfer to the airlines of all responsibility for handling passengers' luggage from incoming aircraft at London Airport.
§ Mr. MartenNone, Sir. The saving of cost was offset by the cessation of receipts from the airlines who had previously paid for the service.
§ Mrs. McLaughlinDoes my hon. Friend realise that, without saving 6 money at all, this is causing considerable inconvenience to passengers because this service has deteriorated, and there is a great problem in respect of the handling of passengers' luggage satisfactorily? Perhaps the average time may be as low as my hon. Friend says, but certainly on the line from Belfast to London this has not been my experience in recent months.
§ Mr. MartenI recognise that at times of high peak travel, perhaps if an aircraft is delayed by fog, one may get this sort of bunching up. But the hand-over referred to in the Question followed the recommendations of the Select Committee on London Airports (1960–61) that all apron services at Heathrow should be transferred to the airlines. We are keeping this under review.
§ Sir J. Langford-HoltWhen my hon. Friend says that this is the responsibility of the airlines, is he quite right? Are not the vehicles and the drivers of the vehicles which transport the luggage both his property and in his employ?
§ Mr. MartenI understand not.