HC Deb 16 July 1979 vol 970 cc351-2W
Mr. McQuarrie

asked the Secretary of State for Trade why British Airways has ceased to operate the Gibraltar-Madrid service since 1st April.

Mr. Tebbit,

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 13th July 1979; Vol. 970 c. 347], gave the following answer:

This is entirely a matter for British Airways but I understand that its decision to cease operating its Madrid-Gibraltar service was taken on purely economic grounds. The link was a sector of its London-Gibraltar service, but since very little traffic was carried between Madrid and Gibraltar it resulted in a loss estimated at over £100,000 a year. The London-Madrid traffic has been easily accommodated on British Airways' other services to Madrid, and the elimination of the stop at Madrid has released much-needed capacity for London-Gibraltar traffic.