§ LORD BRAYEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government, in view of the recent total close-down of all airports in England, due to fog, in which thousands of passengers were considerably delayed, whether they are still satisfied with the electronic automatic landing device; or whether they will now consider some form of fog dispersal unit, which could possibly be ignited by North Sea gas, which would enable aircraft to both land and take off.]
§ LORD DENHAMMy Lords, Her Majesty's Government continue to hold the view, which I understand is shared by other leading aviation States, that an all-weather operations system using electronic automatic approach and landing devices provides the best way of achieving safe and regular operation of aircraft in very low visibility. Nevertheless, the cost of using some form of fog dispersal and the contribution it might make to the overall system is being further studied.
§ LORD BRAYEMy Lords, if we are to continue with the electronic landing system as it is at present we shall still have delays at the airport such as those we have recently had.
§ LORD DENHAMMy Lords, I am sorry, but I did not catch what the noble Lord said.
§ LORD BRAYEMy Lords, if we are to continue without any other form of fog dispersal we shall be in exactly the same position as we are now.
§ LORD DENHAMMy Lords, I did say that the question of the cost of using some form of fog dispersal, and whether it might add to safety and avoidance of delay at airports, is being looked into. A study is being made jointly by the Ministry of Aviation Supply and the Department of the Environment into the possibility of some form of dispersal unit operated by North Sea gas. At the same time, experiments are going on in other countries—in France with the turbo-clear hot air system, and in the United States with the chemical seeding method—and my right honourable friend is keeping a watch on these experiments as well.
§ LORD SHACKLETONMy Lords, the noble Lord may remember—or perhaps he will not—that it is thirty years since we used FIDO during the war; and it is nice to think that we are beginning to get back to 1940 in the use of these techniques. Without disagreeing with the noble Lord's view that some form of automatic procedure is the most promising, may I ask that he should bear in mind the value of a fall-back procedure? If the electronic devices or something of that kind fail, this fall-back could be very valuable indeed, and its cost might well be met by the avoidance of even a single crash. Would the noble Lord consider publishing something about the progress of the various methods of fog clearance as they are going on in other countries?
§ LORD DENHAMMy Lords, all these factors will certainly be taken into consideration, and especially what the noble Lord has said. I am afraid that I cannot commit my honourable friend to publishing whatever emerges from the studies that are going on.