§ 76. Mr. C. Hughesasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will make a statement upon the new Anglo-Irish Agreement upon Civil Aviation.
§ Mr. WatkinsonYes. As was announced at the beginning of September, agreement has been reached with the Government of the Irish Republic on the revision of the Air Services Agreement with that country signed in 1946. Under the revised Agreement, British European Airways and some independent companies will be able for the first time since the war to operate scheduled services to and from the Irish Republic.
I have already sent the hon. Member a summary of the main provisions of the new Agreement. The full text of the Exchange of Letters, which brought the revised Agreement into force, will be published shortly as a Command Paper. In the meanwhile, I am arranging for copies to be available in the Library.
§ 77. Mr. C. Hughesasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what effect the new Anglo-Irish Agreement upon Civil Aviation will have upon the development of civil flying in Wales.
§ Mr. WatkinsonUnder the revised Agreement, U.K. airlines will be able to operate services on three new routes between Wales and the Irish Republic and to supplement Aer Lingus' existing service on the Cardiff-Dublin route. The new routes are Haverfordwest-Dublin, Cardiff-Cork and Haverfordwest-Cork ; the introduction of services to Cork must, however, await the construction of a new aerodrome there.