§ 2.45 p.m.
THE DUKE OF ATHOLLMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stand in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what alternative arrangements are being made to enable people to travel from Scotland to Scandinavia, and vice versa, after April 1 on the days when Scandinavian Airlines System's flights are not permitted to operate through Prestwick.]
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, in the event of the Scandinavian Airlines System's services through Prestwick to New York being reduced it will remain open to the airline to operate a service between Scotland and Scandinavia at whatever frequency it chooses. I would remind your Lordships that there is, in any event, a daily service between Renfrew and Copenhagen in the summer.
THE DUKE OF ATHOLLMy Lords, does not my noble friend realise that the continued indecision about this matter is causing great difficulty to Scotland? Can he tell us when the Government will be able to come to some decision on this matter? Is he aware that the severing of these vital links between Prestwick and Scandinavia would not be in the interests either of Scotland's tourism or of industry, as I find it hard to believe that the Scandinavian Airlines System would find it worth while to run daily services between Prestwick or Renfrew and Copenhagen were they not, in addition, able to carry some cross-Atlantic traffic?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, that is rather a prolonged supplementary, but I will try to answer it. I would tell the House that the present state of play is that the discussions continue. Representations to the Foreign Office have recently been made by the Scandinavian Ambassadors and these are now being examined. I think that the noble Duke mis-stated the position slightly when he implied that terrible things were happening in Scotland because of the uncertainty over this matter, because the airline is not running daily services through the winter. As I have explained before, and will do again in future when the noble Duke's Unstarred Question comes up, I do not think that Scotland will suffer as a result of the rearrangement.
THE EARL OF GOSFORDMy Lords, can my noble friend tell us why it has been found necessary to restrict the services between Scotland and Scandinavia?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, briefly, under the agreement, the S.A.S. are permitted to land at Prestwick in connection with the traffic from Scandinavia to New York. In fact, it would appear that they are collecting most of the traffic at Prestwick.
THE DUKE OF ATHOLLMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that in the last year for which I have figures, 19,500 passengers flew by these services from Copenhagen to North America, 14,000 from Scotland to Copenhagen, and 16,000 from Prestwick to North America—so it seems slightly unfair, would he not agree, to say that the majority of the traffic originates in Scotland?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, perhaps, in the heat of the moment, I was in error in my last remark. I should have said, 40 per cent., which is the figure.