§ Mr. Rankin134, 135 and 136. asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (1) the length of the proposed third runway at Renfrew airport; and what progress has been made towards commencing its construction;
(2) if he will state the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents at Renfrew airport since its inception; and the number of days in the last two years on which it could not receive aircraft owing to adverse weather conditions;
253W(3) if he is now prepared to state in detail his plans with regard to Renfrew airport as an air link in the internal and European development of Scottish civil aviation.
Mr. Ivor Thomas:The intention of my Noble Friend is that Renfrew Airport should be an important operational and maintenance base of British European Airways. It is already the centre of a network of air lines and expansion of services is planned which will connect Clydeside with the main centres of population in the United Kingdom. Services to the Orkneys and Shetlands and to the Western Isles will be maintained and extended. Services are also planned to connect Renfrew with the Continent directly.
There have been only two days in the past two years in which the airport was closed to air traffic. There have been since 1939 two accidents to civil aircraft, resulting in one case in slight injuries to the occupants. Between 1933 and 1939 there were six recorded accidents; one person was killed and another injured.
Before the war Renfrew was a comparatively small grass aerodrome. It was greatly extended during the war, and now has two hard runways 1,950 and 1,300 yards long. To permit safe and regular operation by the larger and faster aircraft now coming into production, a third runway with a length of 1,350 yards is considered desirable. The approach to this runway would have interfered with a proposed extension of the Hillington Industrial Estate, but I am happy to say that the Housing Committee of the Glasgow Corporation have recommended the Corporation to concede an alternative area to the estate. The need for restricting the height of buildings in the approaches to the existing runways has given rise to some difficulties, but I am hopeful that as a result of negotiations now proceeding they will be settled with equal satisfaction and enable my Department to make Renfrew an airport fully worthy of the great city which it serves.