§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he plans to take to protect the slots at present allocated to Regional Air Services in the South East from re-allocation to other services. [85836]
Aircraft movements (Thousand)
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1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Heathrow 330 352 368 390 382 406 411 425 435 440 441 Gatwick 189 199 205 203 174 186 185 192 203 222 239 Stansted 47 47 51 47 53 61 63 75 84 96 105 Glasgow 102 101 108 111 106 107 104 95 92 92 98 Manchester 126 147 155 155 154 157 160 170 170 164 168 Belfast City 23 28 29 29 38 33 38 40 43 41 38 Belfast International 80 83 96 97 95 97 92 88 98 93 95
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe EC regulation that governs the slot allocation process permits Member States to reserve slots for domestic scheduled services on two grounds
That the slots concerned were being used for a particular route at the time of entry into force of the Regulation (1993), only one air carrier is operating on the route, and no other mode of transport can provide an adequate service.OrWhere public service obligations have been imposed on a route (that is, a transport link between two cities or regions rather than an airport specific route).No slots are currently protected on either ground. The Government said in A New Deal for Transport (Cmnd 3950) that they would press for recognition in any revision of the Regulation of the case for maintaining access from regional airports into major hubs such as Heathrow and Gatwick. Proposals for revision are still awaited from the Commission.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what safeguards exist to ensure that airspace management by NATS of airports and air traffic, where NATS does not provide the services, is impartial. [85841]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Directions to the CAA under section 72 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 state that NATS must provide air navigation services
without according preferential treatment to either civil or military users …".If an airport or user has a complaint about the management of airspace by NATS, it could refer to, for instance, the Directorate of Airspace Policy or the Economic Regulation Group, depending on the circumstances. If they were not happy with the outcome, they would have the right to appeal to the Chairman of the CAA.
The ability of NATS to unfairly influence access to airspace from airports is limited. The allocation of slots in NATS airspace for aircraft leaving airports is beyond NATS' control—in fact it is decided by the Central Flow Management Unit in Brussels. The only legitimate circumstances under which NATS could restrict access to airspace would be for reasons of safety.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the change in air traffic movements at(a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted, (d) Glasgow, (e) Manchester and (f) Belfast airports in each of the last 10 years. [85871]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe most recent statistics published by the Civil Aviation Authority cover the period 1987 to 1997. The information requested is set out in the table.
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§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions his Department has held with the British airlines holding slots at South-East airports about their re-allocation. [85837]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonNone. The current regulation permits slots to be freely exchanged between carriers, or transferred by a carrier from one route or type of service to another. But British airlines should be aware of the Government's view, as set out in A New Deal for Transport, that any revision of the EC Regulation that governs the slot allocation process at congested airports should recognise the case for maintaining access from regional airports into congested hubs such as Heathrow and Gatwick.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out the Public Service Obligation rules to protect air services for those airports to which they apply. [85925]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe conditions under which a Public Service Obligation (PSO) can be established on an air route are set out in European Council Regulation 2408–92. The European Court of Justice found (Case T—260/94 Air Inter v The Commission) that a "route" should be defined as a transport link between two cities or regions, and is not airport specific.
A PSO on a regional service to London could therefore be fulfilled by services from any airport in the London airport system. A PSO may be imposed by a Member State in respect of scheduled air services to an airport serving a peripheral or development region in its territory, or on a thin route to any regional airport in its territory. The criterion is that the route must be vital to the economic development of the region in which the airport is situated. PSOs may be used to the extent necessary to ensure on a route the adequate provision of scheduled air services satisfying fixed standards of continuity, regularity, capacity and pricing, which standards air carriers would not assume if they were solely considering their commercial interest. There is provision for the carrier fulfilling the PSO to be reimbursed as appropriate for meeting the specified standards.
"Adequacy" is assessed with regard to: the public interest; the availability of other forms of transport; air fares and conditions; and the combined effect of all air carriers operating or intending to operate on the route.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what were the(a) estimated and (b) actual aircraft movements at the three major south east airports for (i) 1996–97 and (ii) 1997–98. [85879]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe CAA produces forecasts for air transport movements in total UK airspace and for the London Air Traffic Control Centre (LATCC) for planning purposes, but does not break the figures down on an airport by airport basis. The LATCC figures which cover all airports in the London area are as follows:
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Estimated Actual 1996–97 1,504,000 1,507,000 1997–98 1,618,000 1,609,000 NATS keep records of the number of actual movements that they handle at each airport. The figures are as follows:
1996–97 1997–98 Heathrow 439,000 443,000 Gatwick 224,000 244,000 Stansted 98,000 106,000