HC Deb 14 June 1967 vol 748 cc78-80W
74. Mr. Lubbock

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy on flight time limitations for airline pilots.

Mr. J. P. W. Mallalieu

The objective of flight time limitations is to prevent pilots from becoming so fatigued as to endanger the safety of aircraft. The present requirements are being reviewed in the light of recent aeromedical knowledge and other relevant factors. My Department has had extensive consultation with those concerned and I expect a report to be made to me shortly.

81. Mr. Ford

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consult with the Secretary of State for Education and Science regarding the establishment of additional facilities for certain aspects of pilot training in order to forestall the shortage of trained commercial pilots now developing.

Mr. J. P. W. Mallalieu

No. The planned increase in output of trained pilots from the flying schools, together with recruitment from other sources, is expected to overcome the shortage of pilots by 1969.

82. Mr. Ford

asked the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements he is making regarding the provision of properly qualified flying instructors to meet pilot training requirements, in view of the shortage of commercial pilots now developing.

Mr. J. P. W. Mallalieu

The provision of flying instructors, as of other staff, is primarily the responsibility of the flying schools. To encourage, however, the training of flying instructors the Board of Trade is willing to contribute up to 25 per cent. of the cost of training under a sponsorship scheme.

87. Mr. Rankin

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the continuing outflow of British airline pilots to the services of operators in Europe and the United States of America; and if to reverse this trend he will issue directions to the British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways to improve conditions and salaries of pilots employed by them.

Mr. Jay

This is not the kind of matter about which a direction should be made.

Mr. Dobson

asked the President of the Board of Trade what facilities exist for the training of ab initio pilots; how many ab initio pilots are now in training at each school; and how many have been trained at each school in the last five years.

Mr. J. P. W. Malialieu

The Answer is as follows:

There are four schools now running approved courses for the training of professional pilots; these are:

The College of Air Training, Hamble; Airwork Services Limited, Perth; The Oxford Air Training School, Oxford; and the London School of Flying, Elstree.

The followng numbers of ab initio pilots are now under training:

Hamble 170
Perth 125
Oxford 131
Elstree 60
486

The numbers of professional pilots (including overseas) trained ab initio at these four schools in the last five years are:

Year to May
1963 1964 1965 1966 1967
Hamble 33 45 63 66 109
Perth 56 41 39 48 80
Oxford 2 3 8 22 28
Elstree 36 16 17 25 35
127 105 127 161 252