§ 75. Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that, since his Department gave a two-year trooping contract to Eagle Aviation, Limited, this company has within eight months sold all its four-engined aircraft, and has, in consequence, been unable to fulfil the contract; and what steps he took to satisfy himself before engaging in the contract that the company was a bona fide operating company and was both able and willing to complete the contract.
Mr. WardI can assure my hon. Friend that all the usual inquiries were made before the contract in question was let, and that the service provided by the company during the period it held the contract was entirely satisfactory.
Arrangements have been made for the contract to be completed without any extra cost to the taxpayer by the firm which took over the four-engined aircraft from Eagle Aviation, Ltd.