§ 14. Sir J. Gilmourasked the Minister of Aviation whether, in view of the unsatisfactory state of the availability of seats on domestic air routes, he will issue a general direction to British European Airways to withdraw objections lodged with the Air Transport Licensing Board asking for the revocation of the licences held by internal airlines.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsNo. Under the Civil Aviation (Licensing) Act, 1960, all British operators enjoy a statutory right to make applications to the Board and to support or object to applications made by other operators. I have neither the desire nor the power to put British European Airways under a special disadvantage in this matter. Parties aggrieved by a decision of the Board have a right of appeal to me. The cases to which the hon. Member alludes are sub judice and I cannot comment further.