§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to prevent airlines from intentionally overbooking flights; if he will issue guidance to airline companies on appropriate(a) levels of compensation and (b) alternative arrangements for passengers unable to board flights they booked; and if he will make a statement. [129217]
§ Mr. McNultyOverbooking is an accepted practice among full-service scheduled airlines. On any particular flight there is likely to be a proportion of passengers, mainly from those holding flexible tickets, who do not check in. On the basis of statistical evidence from previous flights, airlines estimate the probable number of no-shows and overbook accordingly. On the great majority of flights no passengers are denied boarding, and by reducing the number of empty seats overbooking keeps fares lower than they would otherwise be. This practice is widely accepted by passenger organisations and by regulators as being in the best interests of consumers generally.
In the comparatively small proportion of cases where denied boarding occurs, existing Community legislation requires Community air carriers to provide prescribed minimum levels of financial compensation, in addition to offering passengers a choice between re-routing and reimbursement. In December 2001 the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation to increase levels of compensation to passengers denied boarding, as well as to require the provision of assistance to travellers affected by cancellations for commercial reasons or delays. Political agreement on this proposal was reached at Transport Council in December 2002, and it is currently subject to conciliation procedures involving the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission.
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§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to require signs at airports which are in English to carry equivalent information in other major European languages. [129250]
§ Mr. McNultyThe International Civil Aviation Organisation recommend that, as far as possible, symbols alone should be used without words and that, where words are found to be essential, the choice of languages should be determined having regard to the particular needs of air travellers and the general public. We consider that airport operators are best placed to judge whether any language other than English would be beneficial in conjunction with particular signs, and that it is not necessary or desirable to impose requirements on them in this respect.
§ Mr. LilleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the revenues of airports at(a) Luton, (b) Heathrow, (c) Gatwick and (d) Stansted derive from parking charges. [128936]
§ Dr. HowellsIn the case of Luton Airport, in the fiscal year to 31 March 2003 the proportion of car park revenue to total revenue was 21 per cent. For Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, the proportions were, respectively, 6 per cent., 9 per cent., and 20 per cent.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) pilots and (b) cabin crew have been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in each year since 1997. [129797]
§ Mr. McNultyBased on an analysis of cases of venous thromboembolism (deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) between 1990 and 2000, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) estimates that there is an incidence in pilots of 0.2 per 1,000 per year. The annual incidence for the northern European population as a whole is 1.6–1.8 per 1,000 per year. Records are not kept by the CAA on the health of cabin crew as this group, unlike professional pilots, are not required to have routine regulatory medical examinations.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has to implement a public awareness campaign on the risks of travel-related deep vein thrombosis; [129798]
(2) what advice is available to British air travellers on travel health, with particular reference to measures to prevent travel-related deep vein thrombosis; and if he will make a statement. [129799]
§ Mr. McNultyAdvice on health and travel is widely available to the public in the Department of Health's 'Health advice for Travellers' booklet. The Government issued specific advice on travel-related deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in 2001, which has been made available to the public through NHS Direct, the internet, the airlines and health services. All UK long-haul carriers have produced information for their passengers, in pamphlets, videos or announcements, incorporating material contained in the Government's advice.
The Department of Health has commissioned research, jointly funded with UK airlines, to evaluate the public perception of the risk of DVT and the awareness and use of information sources relating to DVT. One of the tasks of the new Aviation Health Unit 506W that my Department is setting up within the Civil Aviation Authority will be to consider the results of this research as part of its remit to recommend and offer advice to air passengers and crew on aviation health issues.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the possible effects on the health of airport workers if an additional runway were to be built at Gatwick. [128998]
§ Dr. HowellsAnalysis of air quality impact of options included in the consultation "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom" is related to community exposure to ambient emission levels. This comparative analysis for strategic purposes is not intended to be exhaustive and no formal assessment has been made for the purposes of the White Paper. Airports, like other employers, are subject to Health and Safety requirements.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of(a) aircraft crossing runways, (b) wake vortices, (c) high ground, (d) turbulance from flying through a cutting and (e) proximity of the main railway line from building (i) one and (ii) two additional runways at Gatwick; [129000]
(2) what assessment he has made of the risk of wake vortices from the building of a close parallel runway at Gatwick. [129005]
§ Dr. HowellsAll the factors you have mentioned have been appropriately taken into account in the development of the options presented in the consultation. The constraints imposed by each factor vary in relation to each option. For instance, wake vortices are less of a problem where there is greater distance between two runways (i.e. the wide spaced two runway option). In the close parallel option, their potential effects can restrict operations to the dependent segregated mode (resulting in reduced movement capacity).
Further information is contained in the Optioneering report for Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton airports, which was included in the package of SERAS documents made available as part of the consultation (document reference numbers 51 and 66). Although this information relates to options which differ somewhat from those presented in the consultation document, the differences between the options are small in this respect. The information therefore remains valid.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of aircraft using the proposed new wide spaced runway at Gatwick would need to cross the existing runway to reach the terminal buildings. [129001]
§ Dr. HowellsThis information is not available. It would depend on the precise way in which the runways would be operated and the balance of aircraft parking space between and north of the runways.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact to the public safety zone related to the proposed new wide spaced runway at Gatwick would have on use of the main London to Brighton railway line. [129002]
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§ Dr. HowellsThe impact of the Public Safety Zone (PSZ) for the proposed wide-spaced runway on the use of the London to Brighton railway line is likely to be small. The focus of PSZs is on the risks associated with residential property and places where people congregate for significant time. These risks are greater than for road and rail traffic passing through the zones as the time spent stationery is relatively short.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport by how much the high ground to the west would reduce the runway length available for take-offs in relation to the proposed new wide spaced runway at Gatwick. [129003]
§ Dr. HowellsInformation on how the high ground to the west of the airport would reduce the runway length for take-offs is given in the Optioneering report for Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton airports, and included in the package of SERAS documents made available as part of the consultation (document reference number 51). Page 25 of the report states that the TODA (take-off distance available) would be reduced to about 2,550m. Although this information relates to a slightly different runway location it should be regarded only as an estimate and, therefore, remains broadly valid.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies he has made of the alternative plans produced by BAA for a close parallel runway at Gatwick; and what asessment he has made of the additional environmental impact of these plans. [129004]
§ Dr. HowellsAs with all alternative options put forward during the consultation, we are considering these carefully.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much earth would need to be removed to make the proposed new north runway at Gatwick level with the rest of the existing airport. [129102]
§ Dr. HowellsThis information is contained in the Optioneering report for Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton airports, and included in the package of SERAS documents made available as part of the consultation (document reference number 51). Page 28 of the report states that an estimated 18 million cubic metres of material would need to be removed to create a platform 1100 million wide. The corresponding draft layout plan for Gatwick with a possible new northern runway is shown in the associated document of figures, also available (document reference number 66, figure 4.4).