§ Mr. Russell Kerrasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he has considered the Civil Aviation Authority's conclusions on the renewal of the Sky-train licence; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Shore:The Civil Aviation Authority concluded that the Skytrain service should not be started until the market had reached a healthy rate of growth. and that this was unlikely for at least 12 months, and perhaps longer. I agree. It is my intention to consider Skytrain as part of my review of civil aviation which, among other things, will be considering the different categories of service offered by British airlines. I shall of course take full account of the Civil Aviation Authority's conclusions. I hope to complete the review by the summer. In the meantime it has been made clear to the US Government that we expect them to take no action which would prejudice our right to operate Skytrain in accordance with the air services agreement. My Department is also pursuing with the United States' authorities the desirability of removing certain restrictions on Laker Airways Charter Services which were imposed two years ago.