HC Deb 12 March 1975 vol 888 cc164-5W
Mr. Churchill

asked the Secretary of State for Trade by how much, above the 58p per tonne proposed for the British Airports Authority's London airports, would its navigational service charge have to be increased in order to achieve a uniform rate for the regional as well as London airports where the national air traffic control service is provided.

Mr. Clinton Davis

The Civil Aviation Authority has estimated that the various rates of charge on aircraft operators for navigation services at the 13 London and regional airports introduced under the Civil Aviation (Navigation Services Charges) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations 1975 (S.I., 1975/122) from 1st March 1975 will yield about £1.85 million more income in 1975–76 than would have accrued to the authority at pre-1st March charging rates.

Assuming that instead of the rates prescribed in the regulations there were to be a uniform charging rate of 50p per metric ton for domestic flights and a uniform rate of 68p per metric ton for international flights, applicable at all 13 airports, the authority estimates that approximately the same additional income would accrue to it from charges paid by aircraft operators in 1975–76, leaving the authority with approximately the same overall operating deficit of £3.2 million on the services provided at the 13 airports. A much larger surplus would arise at Heathrow and correspondingly larger deficits among the regional airports compared with the results expected with the charging rates prescribed in the regulations. Such a charging policy would present international complications, would be contrary to the wishes of airlines who pay the majority of charges, particularly international operators, and would weaken effective expenditure control and objective investment appraisals.

The same objections would apply if, in order to avoid any overall deficit on the services in 1975–76. a single uniform rate of charge were to be applied to both domestic and international flights at all 13 airports. The authority estimates that the charging rate required in this case would be between 86p and 88p per metric ton.

Back to
Forward to